MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016 | Boishakh 5, 1423, Rajab 10, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 362 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

INSI

DE

End political stalemate, ICG to ALThe International Crisis Group thinks the ruling AL-led govern-ment should resume political dialogue with the opposition.

PAGE 3

Earthquake kills 233in EcuadorThe death toll from Ecuador’s biggest earthquake in decades soared to at least 233 yesterday as rescuers using tractors and bare hands for survivors in shattered coastal towns. PAGE 32

Massive corruption under probe atMongla portThe ACC is looking into allegations of Tk17 crore embezzlement in three pro-jects at the Mongla port. PAGE 8

Fakhrul: BNP will restore democracyMirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in anexclusive interview with theDhakaTribune talked about thecurrent political situation and hisparty’s vision. PAGE 5

SECOND EDITION

7-murder case APP transferredn Tanvir Hossain, Narayanganj

The recent order to transfer an additional public prosecutor of a Narayanganj court engaged in the sensational seven-murder case has created fresh controversy.

The plainti� of the case, wife of slain panel mayor Nazrul Islam, has also expressed concern over the al-leged understanding between the prosecution and the defence law-

yers to save the key accused – ex-pelled Awami League leader Nur Hossain.

Additional public prosecutor KM Fazlur Rahman was transferred on April 13 based on an order is-sued by the public prosecutor of the court, SM Wazed Ali Khokon, who the plainti� allege, has good ties with Nur Hossain.

Nazrul’s wife Selina Islam Beauty recently � led a petition to

change the public prosecutor in the case alleging that he had taken bene� ts from the accused.

Lawyer Fazlur was dealing with some extortion and arms cases � led against Nur Hossain. He has now been transferred to the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court from the Additional District and Sessions Judge’s Court.

According to the court sources, PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Govt projects in� ation rate drop to 5.8%n Asif Showkat Kallol

The government expects average in� ation rate to drop by 0.4 per-centage points in the next � scal year, thanks to cheap imports from India and China along with the low price of fuels in the global market.

“We expect that the next � s-cal's in� ation rate will be 5.8%, the main reason behind which is the

huge reduction in fuel oil prices in the international market,” Senior Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Another reason for the low pro-jection was that local businesses would be getting 80% of its $40 bil-lion imports from China and India at low costs, he said.

The Finance Ministry revealed its projection of the in� ation rate for the next � scal year at the lat-est � scal coordination council meeting, presided over by Finance

Minister AMA Muhith. It also an-nounced that � scal year's average in� ation rate was 6.2%.

Due to reduction of prices of fuel oil and food in the global market, the local businessmen are import-ing low price commodities from China and India, Mahbub said.

“In� ation in India and China has also declined because of cheap fuel,” the secretary added.

“I am sure at the end of 2016-17 � scal year, in� ation rate will be be-low 5.8%.”

“The local industrial sector growth rate is 10%. The service sec-tor is doing good this year as well and we hope it will continue to do so,” he added.

Mahbub said the government's salary raises for public sector em-ployees would create a boost for the economy with an increased do-mestic demand.

The secretary also said the gov-ernment was expecting Bangla-desh to break away from the 6% growth trap by achieving 7.05% growth.

“But the in� ation rate will re-main steady, which is a unique sit-uation.”

The latest � gures from Bangla-desh Bureau of Statistics show that the monthly rate of in� ation was 5.65% in March while in February it was 5.62%.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

To make a small living, day labourers endure the heat wave caused by blazing summer temperature over the past few days. The photo was taken in Chittagong’s Majhir Ghat area yesterday RABIN CHOWDHURY

The government initiative for the reduction of fuel oil in the local market will have a positive impact on the future in� ation rate

Police: Sha� k plotted Joy's abductionAmar Desh's Mahmudur also involved in conspiracy, might be shown arrested todayn Arifur Rahman Rabbi

Sha� k Rehman was physically present at a meeting in 2012 in the US where three others including an FBI o� cial allegedly conspired to abduct and kill Sajeeb Wazed Joy, separate investigations by Bangla-deshi and US o� cials have report-edly revealed.

Daily Amar Desh Editor Mahmu-dur Rahman's involvement in the

alleged plot was also found dur-ing the probe, said Monirul Islam, additional commissioner of DMP's Counter-terrorism and Transna-tional Crime Unit.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, he added that the police now plan to show Mahmudur – who is already behind bars on sedition charges – as arrested in a case � led with the Paltan police station. A prayer would be � led with a Dhaka

court in this regard today, he added.On January 29, 2012, Sha� k Re-

hman allegedly met with JaSaS vice-president's son Rizve Ahmed Caesar, the then FBI Special Agent Robert Lustyik, and Lustyik's friend Johannes Thaler to plot the abduc-tion and murder of Joy – the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Rizve, Lustyik and Thaler are currently serving jail sentences in the US in connection with a bribery

scheme to dig up con� dential in-formation about Joy.

When Joy came to know about the matter, he passed on the infor-mation to Bangladesh Police. Later in 2015, police � rst � led a general diary and then � led a case with Pal-tan police station.

Sources close to the investiga-tion told the Dhaka Tribune that they have received leads from US investigation agencies that suggest

involvement of both Sha� k and Mahmudur in the plot.

The entire conspiracy against Joy began in 2011 following instruc-tions from the BNP high command, the sources added.

Rizve, son of Jatiyatabadi Sa-majik Sangskritik Sangstha (JaSaS) Vice-President Mohammad Ullah Mamun, initiated communica-tion with US Federal Bureau of

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

News2DTMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Govt projectsA Sonali Bank o� cial, Sadrul Hasan, said the in� ation rate has dropped in the last couple of months but it has had no impact on price level and renting houses.

Economist AB Mirza Azizul Is-lam told the Dhaka Tribune it was rational for the average in� ation rate to be 5.8% for the next � scal year as there is no possibility of price increases of fuel oil and food in the international market.

“The government initiative for the reduction of fuel oil in the local market will have a positive impact on the future in� ation rate,” he said.

According to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, the Bang-ladesh government last revised the price of oil three years ago, when a barrel of crude oil cost nearly three times greater than the current price at around $35 a barrel. The average import price of crude oil was a lit-tle over $75 a barrel in � scal 2014-15, down from nearly $110 a barrel in the previous year. The average price this year dropped to $52 a barrel. l

Police: Sha� k plotted Joy’s abductionInvestigation o� cial Lustyik through their common acquaint-ance Thaler.

Using Thaler as the medium, the men met on several occasions. At one of those meetings on January 29, 2012, Sha� k Rehman was alleg-edly present to plot Joy’s death.

Rizve then reportedly sent emails containing documents that described Joy’s day-to-day move-ment to Milton Bhuiyan, a BNP leader living in New York’s Brook-lyn.

Milton then mailed the docu-ments to Mahmudur, according to investigation sources.

Milton also maintained regular

communication with Sha� k, which led the police to suspect that Sha� k might also have received those documents.

As part of the ongoing probe into the conspiracy, Bangladesh Police arrested Sha� k on Saturday and is now planning to show Mahmudur arrested in the case as well.

Asked why the case was � led with Paltan police when the mur-der plot had taken place in the US, Monirul said Rizve’s father Mamun visited Dhaka in 2011 for JaSaS council programme and had sever-al meetings in JaSaS Paltan o� ce. Police now suspect that the murder plot might have been hatched dur-

ing the meetings in the JaSaS Pal-tan o� ce; for this reason Mamun and other unidenti� ed BNP mem-bers have also been accused in the case � led with Paltan police.

Former Jaijaidin editor Sha� k Rehman was arrested based on evi-dence, he added.

“We are now questioning him in connection with the case as his in-volvement was found during investi-gation by US authorities as well,” the DMP additional commissioner said.

Investigation o� cials might also travel to the US to dig deeper into the case, he added.

Meanwhile, Information Minis-ter Hasanul Haq Inu told reporters

at the secretariat yesterday that Sha� k Rehman was arrested not for his journalistic works, but because the police had speci� c information in connection with the former Jai-jaidin editor’s involvement with the crime.

At a separate event in the capi-tal, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said they had informa-tion that at least three Bangladeshi individuals were involved in the plot to kill Joy.

Hinting that Sha� k and Mahmu-dur were two of those suspects, the minister however said the identity of the other individual would be disclosed in due time. l

7-murder case APP transferredFazlur is known as an e� cient pros-ecutor in Narayanganj. The courts gave capital punishment in over 70 cases he had dealt with in the last � ve years. He was also looking into the two cases � led over bomb attack on an Awami League o� ce that killed 20 persons.

Asked why Fazlur was trans-ferred in a hurry, Wazed said: “We need an e� cient lawyer at the chief judicial magistrate court.”

Fazlur thinks that the public prosecutor can transfer any lawyer to any court as per the law.

Several lawyers have also ques-tioned the appointment of 94 as-sistant prosecutors to the Narayan-ganj court in November last year.

Selina’s lawyer Shakhawat Hossain said: “We have long been demanding a fair trial in the case since the accused including Nur Hossain are very in� uential and the ruling party-backed people are trying to save the accused.

“But as the government has ap-pointed 94 assistant public pros-ecutors against 14 posts and most

of them are not e� cient, we think that it will ultimately bene� t the ac-cused. We will observe the trial pro-ceedings few more days and then decide our next course of action.”

Earlier, the trial proceedings came under criticisms for not con-ducting further investigation, as demanded by the plainti� , as the police had � led the charge sheet before the arrest of Nur Hossain. Police also did not seek remand of the former Awami League leader. Moreover, the media persons have been kept out of the court during the proceedings while Nur Hossain and other accused recently threat-ened the prosecution witnesses in open court.

Petition for PP’s withdrawalPlainti� of the case Selina � led

a petition with the superintendent of police and the district’s deputy commissioner on March 22 urging that the public prosecutor be re-lieved from the seven-murder case.

The letter says that Wazed Ali is a close friend of Nur Hossain. “He misguided me during my deposi-

tion in the court on several occa-sions after taking bribes from Nur Hossain and sacked RAB o� cer Tarek Sayeed Mahmud. He also for-bade me not to disclose the name of Nur Hossain.

“On March 21, he [Wazed] in� u-enced the depositions of witnesses Abul Kalam Azad, Jahangir Alam Tipu and Fakhrul Islam to save several accused. He has developed good ties with the defence lawyers and often gossips with the accused in open court.”

On the other hand, in another letter written to the home sec-retary, Selina termed Wazed Ali unskilled and ine� cient. “He has been � nancially bene� ted from seven-murder case accused Nur Hossain and Tarek Sayeed. He has been creating confusion among the prosecution witnesses so that their statements bene� t the accused.”

Wazed, however, has refuted the allegations as baseless. “The plainti� is spreading propaganda against me for some other rea-sons,” he claimed. l

A police o� cial grabs the throat of a Moulik Bangla activist as police disrupt the activists’ procession in Dhaka University’s TSC area yesterday. Moulik Bangla brought out the procession demanding cancellation of the coal-based power plant in Rampal MEHEDI HASAN

Joy: Sha� k Rehman turned criminal from journalist n Tribune Desk

Sha� k Rehman changed his career path from journalism to crime, said Sajeeb Wazed Joy, ICT adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He also said the BNP ran such “mid-career course” for criminal activities.

“Today our Government arrest-ed a senior ‘journalist’ and oppo-sition BNP leader Sha� k Rehman for his involvement in a plot to kidnap and kill me in the US. A US BNP leader’s son, a former FBI agent and another American friend of both are already serving time in the US for this plot,” Joy wrote in a post on his o� cial Facebook page on Saturday.

“The evidence against ‘journal-ist’ Sha� k Rehman comes directly from this case. Note I put the word journalist in quotes because once you’re involved in trying to kidnap and kill someone I believe you have changed your career path from journalist to criminal. The BNP runs a mid-career course for that sort of thing,” he further wrote.

He also posted a link of US De-partment of Justice’s press state-ment about the case.

“You can read about that case directly from the US DOJ’s press release. I’m not sure about the ‘prominent’ part but I am the ‘cit-izen of Bangladesh’ mentioned there,” he wrote.

Joy, also the prime minister’s son, said the plot to abduct and kill him was formulated just because his mother was involved in Bang-ladesh politics and he helped her occasionally.

“It is also because our opposi-tion party [BNP] is of a particularly violent criminal bent and is allied with the largest fundamentalist party in the country with direct ties to ISIS,” he went on.

Sha� k Rehman, former editor of the Jaijaidin, was picked up by detectives in plainclothes from his house in Eskaton, Dhaka on Satur-day morning, on charge of plotting to abduct and murder Joy.

The case was � led by Detective Branch Inspector Fazlur Rahman with Paltan police station in Au-gust last year, who also named BNP’s cultural wing Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha (Ja-SaS) Vice-President Mohammad Ullah Mamun and a number of un-identi� ed BNP leaders as suspects in the case.

A US court sentenced JaSaS leader Mamun’s son Rizve Ahmed Caesar to prison on March 4 last year for his involvement in a brib-ery scheme to obtain con� dential information from a former FBI spe-cial agent in New York. l

News 3D

TMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

BNP: Sha� k Rehman's remand inhumane n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP has said that noted jour-nalist Sha� k Rehman's arrest and then remand in police custody is “inhumane.”

“The government is arresting the dissident voices. Sha� k Re-man's arrest is part of that,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of the party, told journal-ists yesterday.

“Sha� k Reman's remand after arresting is inhumane and is not acceptable at all,” said the party secretary general.

Fakhrul along with BNP lead-ers Abdullah Al Noman and Abdul Awal Mintoo visited Sha� k Reh-man's residence to meet his wife Taleya Rehman.

BNP leader and secretary gener-al Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also demanded immediate and uncon-ditional release of Sha� k Rehman from jail, withdrawal of the case against him and stopping of the re-mand in police custody.

Pro-BNP organisation Bangla-desh Shommilito Peshajibi Parish-ad formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club demand-ing immediate and unconditional release of the 81-year-old veteran journalist Sha� k Rehman.

Noted journalist and former editor of the Bangla Daily Jai Jai Din Sha� k Rehman was arrested and put on a � ve-day remand on Saturday to be interrogated over his alleged involvement in theplot to abduct and kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. l

CUSTODIAL DEATH OF JONY

Charges framed against 3 policemenn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against three police o� -cials and two informants in a case � led on charges of torturing Istiaq Ahmed Jony, a member of the Bi-hari community, to death in police custody in 2014.

Dhaka Metropolitan Session Judge Md Kamrul Hossain Molla said: “It is a sensible case; so there is no scope to discharge the ac-cused in the case.”

Charges were framed against Pal-labi police station’s the then sub-in-spector Jahidur Rahman Khan, assis-tant sub-inspectors Kamruzzaman

and Rashedul Haque, and inform-ants Md Russell and Md Sumon.

ASI Kamruzzaman, and ASI Rashedul are now out on bail from High Court and Russell has been shown as a fugitive in the case.

The court framed the charges after rejecting a discharge petition � led by the defence counsels under section 15 of Torture and Custodial Death (Protection) Act 2013.

The court � xed May 16 for re-cording testimonies from prosecu-tion witnesses.

The prosecution yesterday read out the charges, to which the ac-cused claimed their innocence.

According to the case statement,

informant Sumon and Jony got into an altercation over the teasing of girls at a wedding party in Pallabi’s Irani Camp on February 9, 2014.

After Jony slapped Sumon, he threatened Jony with dire conse-quences. Half an hour later, a team of 25-26 policemen, including SI Ja-hid, swooped on the ceremony and vandalised the stage.

They also picked up Jony, his brother Rocky and some other peo-ple from the ceremony and took them to the Pallabi police station.

The detainees were allegedly tortured in police custody, with SI Jahid reportedly jumping on the chest of Jony and spitting into his

mouth when he sought water.Later, Jony was taken to National

Heart Foundation in a critical condi-tion but doctors declared him dead.

The police, however, claimed that Jony had been killed in a clash between the residents of Irani camp and Rahamat camp in Pallabi.

On August 7, 2014, the court or-dered to conduct a judicial enquiry into the custodial death of Jony after his brother Imtiaz Hossain Rocky � led a murder case.

On February 17 last year, Metro-politan Magistrate Maruf Hossain submitted the probe report of a judi-cial inquiry before the court against the � ve accused in the case. l

End destabilising political stalemate, ICG urges ALn Tribune Desk

The International Crisis Group thinks the ruling Awami League-led government should resume po-litical dialogue with the opposition without delay to end the destabilis-ing political stalemate.

To demonstrate sincerity and as the � rst step, the Brussels-based organisation says, the government should end use of the rule of law institutions to target opponents and silence critics.

“Accepting legitimate avenues of participation and dissent would also help regain some lost legitimacy and the trust of citizens in the state’s provision of both justice and secu-rity,” the ICG says in its latest report “Political Con� ict, Extremism and Criminal Justice in Bangladesh.”

“The BNP and its Jamaat-e-Isla-

mi ally marked the anniversary of the disputed 2014 elections with indiscriminately violent strikes and tra� c blockades, which were matched brutally by the state. The BNP now appears less willing to resort to violence to unseat the government; its decision to re-en-ter the political mainstream gives the government an opportunity it should exploit by urgently resum-ing dialogue with the opposition.”

On the other hand, the ICG urged the BNP to commit to peace-ful opposition, including by pre-venting party activists from using violence to subvert the political order; and sever ties with political allies who use violence to destabi-lise the government.

It suggests that the internation-al community including the US, the EU and India urge the Awami

League to allow the opposition le-gitimate political expression and participation. “There is no time to lose. If mainstream dissent re-mains closed, more and more gov-ernment opponents may come to view violence and violent groups as their only recourse.”

The ICG observes that the po-litical con� ict between the Awami League and the BNP has resulted in high levels of violence and a brutal state response. The government’s excesses against political oppo-nents and critics include enforced disappearances, torture and ex-tra-judicial killings.

“The permissive legal environ-ment, however, is creating oppor-tunities for extremist out� ts to re-group, manifested in the killings of secular bloggers and foreigners and attacks on sectarian and religious

minorities in 2015.”The government’s reaction to

rising extremism, including ar-rest and prosecution of several suspects without due process and transparency, is fuelling alienation that these groups can further ex-ploit, the report mentions.

So long as there is “no independ-ent court system to arbitrate dis-putes fairly,” the parties are likely to continue taking those disputes to the streets. But a neutral judici-ary could help defuse tensions by upholding fundamental principles and preventing executive excesses, the ICG says.

To ensure due process and end political interference in the justice system, the Brussels-based watch-dog suggests that the government enforce the constitutional require-ment for an independent judiciary

by establishing a more transparent, consultative appointment process, including consultations with the bar councils and parliamentary en-dorsement.

The report says the government should avoid statements alleging the identity of those responsible for crimes while investigations are ongoing; and end the practice of presenting suspects to the media, rather than in court, as required by the constitution.

Moreover, the judiciary should develop consistent judicial doc-trine/interpretation upholding the right to a fair trial and restraining the executive branch from under-mining fundamental constitutional rights and principles, including ac-tions against civil society institu-tions that undermine their ability to function freely. l

Lutfa Begum, mother of slain Government Titumir College student Farzana Yasmin Eeti, breaks down in tears at a human chain to demand exemplary punishment for her daughter’s killer yesterday. Following the human chain in front of National Press Club in the capital, Lutfa held a press conference where she claimed that Eeti’s husband Ali Azgar killed her on April 4 because of Eeti’s refusal to meet his dowry demands. ‘He force-fed poison to my daughter and tried to hide it by taking her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the doctors pronounced her dead,’ she said, adding that Ali Azgar was arrested by police. ‘My daughter was a brilliant student, a third-year honours student at Titumir College,’ Lutfa said. ‘I demand justice for my daughter and urge the prime minister, the law minister, the health minister and the home minister to ensure that her case does not get forgotten like other cases.’ SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016News4DT

Bangladesh-India to sign LPG MoU todayn Aminur Rahman Rasel

Bangladesh and India will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to set up a Lique� ed Petroleum Gas bottling plant in the Chittagong re-gion today.

Indian Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan arrived in the capital yesterday on a three-day visit to Bangladesh to attend bilateral meetings with his counterpart and other dignitaries.

“Indian Oil Corporation Lim-ited, a state owned company in India, wants to build an LPG bot-tling plant jointly with Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation,” Mosleh Uddin, BPC director for operations and planning, told the Dhaka Trib-une yesterday.

“After meeting domestic de-mand, the rest of the produced gas will be exported to the Indian state of Tripura,” he added.

He also said IOCL will conduct studies to assess the feasibili-ty of setting up the plant at theirown cost.

Pradhan is expected to attend the MoU singing ceremony at a city hotel along with Bangladesh’s State Minister for Power, Ener-gy and Mineral Resources NasrulHamid.

A BPC o� cial said that private � rms were importing 150,000 tonnes of LPG while the govern-ment produced 20,000 tonnes a year, against an annual demand of 350,000 tonnes.

The Indian company would re-quire to lay around 250 kilometres

of pipelines to supply LPG from Chittagong to Tripura through the Feni river. The � rm already has a 2,500-kilometre LPG pipeline in In-dia, a BPC o� cial said.

On the other hand, BPC will sign Indian � rm Engineers India Limit-ed as a consultant for the second unit of Eastern Re� nery Limited in Chittagong tomorrow.

EIL is expected to be given the contract at Tk111 crore under the Speedy Supply of Power and En-ergy (Special Provision) (Amend-ment) act, 2015.

Meanwhile, the French � rm Technip, which had set up the � st unit of Eastern Re� nery Limited, has already expressed its interest to be the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the ERL-2 project. l

Death anniversary of MA Qadir observedn Tribune Desk

The 45th death anniversary of Lt Col Muhammad Abdul Qadir, who embraced mar-tyrdom on April 17 during the Liberation War, was ob-served yesterday.

Qadir was commissioned in the Engineering Corps in 1949.

The Qadirabad Canton-ment in Natore was named after him in recognition of his role in Bangladesh’s in-dependence. The govern-ment has also issued a postal stamp of him as one of the martyred intellectuals.

His grave was found in 2007 and he was reburied with full state and military honours in 2011 at Qadirabad

Cantonment.A milad mah� l was held

yesterday at the Qadirabad cantonment and wreaths were laid on the martyr’s grave.

He is the father of jour-nalist Nadeem Qadir, the minister (press) at the Bang-ladesh High Commission in London. l

Taleya: British High Commission looking into Rehman’s arrestn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Noted journalist Sha� k Rehman’s wife Taleya Rehman met two o� cials from the British High Commission in Dhaka yesterday, seeking justice for her arrested husband.

“As Sha� k is a British citizen, I requested them [the high commission] to look after the issue, it is their responsibility,” Taleya told the Dhaka Tribune after returning home after a two-hour-long meeting with two political section o� cials at the British High Commission in Dhaka’s Baridhara.

The 81-year-old was arrested from his residence on Saturday morning over his alleged involvement in a plot to abduct and

kill Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He was later put on a � ve-day remand.

Taleya said the British High Commission o� cials told her that they were informed about the situation and now looking into the issue.

“They asked me details about his arrest and remand,” she said, adding that they also wanted to know what she thought was the reason for his arrest.

The UK o� cials also told Taleya that they would look into the issue with due importance as Rehman is a senior citizen and physically ill.

The British High Commission in Bangladesh has so far not issued any o� cial comment on the arrest of Rehman, a former editor of Daily Jaijaidin. l

Lt Gen Sabbir Ahmed, chief of general sta� of the armed forces, gives away certi� cates among students at the Military Institute of Science and Technology in the capital’s Mirpur yesterday ISPR

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016News 5

DT

PRAYERTIMES

Cox’s Bazar 33 27Dhaka 39 27 Chittagong 33 27 Rajshahi 41 28 Rangpur 30 24 Khulna 38 28 Barisal 37 28 Sylhet 29 23T E M P E R AT U R E F O R E C A S T F O R TO DAY

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:21PM SUN RISES 5:34AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW36.8ºC 19.8ºCJessore RangpurMONDAY, APRIL 18

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Fajr: 4:14am | Zohr: 11:58pmAsr: 3:26pm | Magrib: 6:24pmEsha: 7:51pm

DRY WEATHER LIKELY

Mirza Fakhrul: BNP will restore democracyMirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir became the secretary general of the BNP on March 30, nearly � ve years after serving as the acting secretary general. He is the seventh secretary general of the party that was founded on September 1, 1978. In an exclusive interview with the DhakaTribune’s Mohammad Al-Masum Molla, the senior politician recently talked about the current political situation and his party’s visionQ: Now you are the secretary general of the party and there is a largely new corps of office holders in BNP. What are your plans for future?Mirza Fakhrul: Our � rst priority is to reorganise the party. The process has begun through the national council. Now we are focusing on preparing the party and its leaders and activists for the movement to restore democracy in the country and return people’s fundamental rights, which were snatched away by the January 5 elections. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia made a statesmanship speech in the council where she gave all directives for positive politics.

Q: What do you mean by positive politics?Fakhrul: Madam [Khaleda Zia] has announced introduction of politics of mutual understanding and mutual respect. She said there is no space for politics of vengeance. The BNP has stepped forward and now it is the government’s turn to respond to positive politics.

Q: Will the BNP do things differently?Fakhrul: If you take a look at our programmes in the last one year, you will see we observed programmes like meetings, processions and discussions. The party has a Standing Committee and other policymaking bodies; they will chalk out some peaceful and systematic programmes. It is tough to say anything in advance about future programmes and plans. Everything depends on the situation. In politics, you cannot � x any programme in advance. It is time that will dictate you what to do.

Q: Will Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman remain the real power in BNP?Fakhrul: It is speci� cally said in the party charter that the senior vice-chairman will act as the chairperson in the absence of the chairperson. As he is the senior

vice-chairman, he can give his opinion in the party’s highest policymaking body, the Standing Committee, on various issues. The council has elected him as the senior vice-chairman and given him the power mentioned in the party charter.

Q: Do you think Tarique Rahman is acceptable to the international community?Fakhrul: It is not a fact that Tarique Rahman is not acceptable to the international community. It is a campaign of the government to malign him locally and internationally. The fact is that Tarique Rahman is a very popular leader in Bangladesh, especially among the young generation. When he started grassroots campaign across the country, he gained huge popularity. For this, the current government is afraid of him and started negative campaign. Recently, Interpol withdrew the red notice warrant against him. He was also relieved from a money laundering

case. The fact is that people of Bangladesh love him.

Q: What can the party do to make him acceptable?Fakhrul: Tarique Rahman is already acceptable in the party. He was elected as the senior vice-chairman of the party in the council.

Q: Why doesn’t the BNP re-brand itself as a moderate party?Fakhrul: The BNP is a moderate, liberal and democratic party. If you consider the BNP’s programmes in recent times, you will see how tolerant the BNP is as a party. We have been participating in all elections despite vote rigging and the Election Commission’s biased role. Don’t you think that these are the indicators of a moderate, democratic and liberal political party?

Q: What is the party’s ultimate demand? How will you compel the government to meet your demand?

Fakhrul: We are organising the people and mobilising mass opinion for their democratic rights. People of the country will compel the present government to hold a neutral, free and fair election under a neutral Election Commission and election-time government.

Q: Why don’t you go for non-violent protests, for example, silent marches?Fakhrul: We are already staging protests. We are participating in all elections as part of our ongoing movement. This is a non-violent movement.

Q: What is the failure of BNP?Fakhrul: In any democratic movement, there are successes and failures. If a government is autocratic and repressive, then the result of a movement will not come overnight. If you look back at history, you will see it took 12 years to oust Ayub Khan from the government and nine years to oust autocratic ruler HM Ershad

from power. We have been in the movement for seven years and we will succeed.

Q: Is there any possibility of an election soon?Fakhrul: I cannot say anything about this. I think a free, fair, credible and inclusive election should be held immediately for the sake of the country’s democracy and its people.

Q: Jamaat is labelled as a party of war criminals after the International Crimes Tribunal verdicts. On the other hand, the BNP claims that they are pro-liberation and have many freedom fighters as its leaders. Then what is the chemistry of an alliance between the two?Fakhrul: I will not make any comment about the court’s observation. The BNP-led 20-party combine is not an ideological alliance; rather it is a strategic one. We are in a democratic movement. Madam [Khaleda Zia] has called upon other political parties several times to come under a single platform to intensify the movement. The BNP’s door is open for all for the ongoing movement of restoring democracy.

Q: What is the stance of the BNP about militancy?Fakhrul: We are against of all sorts of terrorist and militant activities. The BNP believes that terrorist activities create problems for the common people. We are equally alert about the recent happenings in Bangladesh. Our leader [Khaleda Zia] has urged for a national consensus on this issue and asked the government to take the initiative. Unfortunately, the government has not taken any initiative. On the other hand, it tried to blame the BNP for militancy which indirectly is an attempt to divert the people’s attention to other issues from the real problems. We believe that extremism may rise because democratic space in Bangladesh is being squeezed by the present government. It will help the extremists become stronger. l

RAJIB DHAR

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016Advertisement6DT

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016News 7

DT

Abduction, killing of tourists on the rise in Bandarban n S Basu Das, Bandarban

Tourists who travel through the Thanchi-Alikadom road remain in panic as incidents of kidnap and murder have increased alarmingly nowadays.

Local sources said several num-bers of terrorist groups are involved in the killing and abduction of tour-ists as well as local people, much to create tension among the person-nel of law enforcing agencies.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Thanchi-Alikadam Road, the highest road of the coun-try, on July 14, last year.

As the road is about 2,500 feet above from sea level, the Mro Na-tional Party and the Parbatya Chot-togram Jonosonghoti Samity have

have increased its criminal activi-ties on the road.

On Saturday night, a group of terrorists kidnapped three people – Sahabuddin, Abu Bakkar and Absar Ali – while they were going to a cat-tle market. They were yet to be res-cued till � ling of the report yesterday night. Police arrested a youth name-ly John Tripura in this connection.

O� cer-in-Charge of Thanci po-lice station told the Dhaka Tribune that they had come to know that a Tripura-based terrorist group ab-ducted them.

On December 31, last year, po-lice recovered the bodies of two people who belonged to a terrorist group. Then, police said they were killed during a gun battle with a ri-val group.

On January 2, police recovered the body of a labourer who was kid-napped by the members of the Mro Natinalist Party.

The following day, police recov-ered the body of a member of Mro Nationalist Party. Police said he was killed over internal feud.

Sing Yong Mro, a member of Parbattya Zila Parishad, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had been aware of increasing criminal activ-ities centring the road, but did not know which group were involved in the activities.

Alamgir Hossain who went to Bandarban yesterday said: “I want-ed to see the road as it is the high-est road in the country, but now I am feeling unsecured to go there with my family.”

With inauguration of the road, a new horizon has been opened up for the people of South-Eastern re-gion in the country’s hill area as it reduced around 40 kilometre road connection between Bandarban and Cox’sBaza and Tanci-Alikad-am-Cox’sBazar, but the recent criminal activities centring the road has put the tourists plus local people in a grave anxiety.

According to sources, Road and Highway Department started the construction work of the road in 1991 with a cost of Tk80 crore.

Later, the construction work was handed over to Engineers Con-struction Battalion of Bangladesh Army. They started work with full speed but it stopped in 2006 due to fund crisis. In 2010, the army

started the work again with a cost of Tk120 crore.

The panoramic views surround-ing the road could be a great tourists’ attraction, but the recent killings and abductions in the area are discourag-ing travelers to visit the spot.

Dilip Kumar, deputy commis-sioner, told the Dhaka Tribune that the incidents of kidnapping was separate, but law enforcers are still in vigilance, so there was no prob-lem for tourists and they could visit the place without any fear.

At least 79 members of two separatist militant groups Mro Na-tional Defensive Party and Mro Na-tional Party surrendered their arms on November 6, last year after 18 years of signing the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Treaty. l

Creative Challenge contest kicks o� April 28n Tribune Desk

The four-day long business idea competition titled ‘Crea-tive Challenge-2016’ is going to kick o� in the auditorium of Chittagong University’s Bach-elor of Business Administra-tion from April 28.

A total number of 120 par-ticipants from 40 public and

private universities will take part in the programme with the slogan “Building Chit-tagong, Branding Bangla-desh”, said organisers.

The Finance and Banking Debating Association (FBDA) is organising event for the third.

National English daily Dha-ka Tribune is the media part-ner of the programme. l

Minister: Master Plan for Tejgaon on the cardsn Abu Hayat Mahmud

The government has set out a master plan for Tejgaon Indus-trial Area as part of its modern-isation move in the capital.

The master plan, namely Industrial cum Commercial and Residential Area, covers industries, commercial and residential establishments.

Housing and Public Works Minister Eng Mosharraf Hos-sain disclosed it after an in-ter-ministerial meeting of the review committee on the plan in the Secretariat yesterday. The minister presided over the meeting.

Mosharraf said the plan would be followed strictly in erecting any new establish-ments in the area.

“Own parking space is a must for every building. Be-sides, separate parking will be ensured in the area for the visitors. There will have apart-ments for the public servants

on the land of the Public Works Department,” the min-ister also said.

The minister continued that the land lords or plot own-ers will have to install waste recycling system at their own initiative if they want to estab-lish industry, commercial out-lets, hotels, hospitals etc.

There was vast discussion over the master plan in the meeting and its report would be submitted to Prime Minis-ter Sheikh Hasina.

Dhaka North City Corpo-ration (DNCC) has recently cleared occupied roads used as truck terminal in the area’s Saatrasta.

DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq said Kawranbazar kitchen market would be shifted to Gabtali, Sayedabad and Mo-hakhali in the future.

Besides, the city corpora-tion will construct modern shopping hubs in its locality by December. l

News8DTMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Massive corruption under probe at Mongla portn Hedait Hossain, Khulna

The Anti-Corruption Commission is looking into allegations of Tk17 crore embezzlement in three pro-jects at the Mongla port.

The projects are, a purchase of Tk23 crore worth of navigational equipment, a dredger purchased for Tk37 crore and the purchase of a pilot boat and a dispatch boat for Tk23 crore. Allegations are that altogether around Tk17 crore has been embezzled from these pro-jects.

ACC Deputy Director Abdul Hai told the Dhaka Tribune the com-mission was looking into a number of port projects after an allegation of corruption was raised.

“We have already been collect-ing information from concerned o� cials,” he said.

Mongla Port Authority Chief En-

gineer (marine) Altaf Hussain, the director of all three projects, said the allegations were a conspiracy against him.

“All equipment were duly pur-chased following the instructions in the bidding documents. ACC has sought information from me on these projects and has been sup-plied with them,” he said.

A government audit at the port in mid-2015 found the irregularities at the projects and recommended action against the director.

The ACC inquiry began in March this year after several port employ-ees � led a complaint against Altaf Hussain.

In 2011 the port purchased a dredger worth Tk37 crore. The pro-ject manager allegedly purchased a very low quality dredger and embezzled Tk7 crore. The dredg-ing engine, boat engine and other

equipment were of low quality. As a result, it only worked 8-10 hours since the purchase and went out of order in a year. It was recently re-paired at the Khulna Shipyard for Tk40 lakh, but still remains inop-erable.

The audit team reported that the dredger was out of order and recommended actions against the director and others responsible for the project.

In 2013, port authority decided to purchase equipment worth Tk23 Crore to keep the channel open 24 hours. It bought 52 navigation mooring buoys, of which 31 were placed in the inner channel and and 21 at the outer channel.

The GRP and steel buoys were very low in quality and 20 bouys in the inner channel have already gone out of order. Allegations have been raised that around Tk5 crore

was embezzled through corruption in their purchase. The audit team has recommended necessary de-partmental action against the pro-ject manager.

The dispatch boat and the pi-lot boat, worth Tk23 crore, were bought in 2013. Allegations are that the project manager collud-ed with contractors and installed a low quality engine in the pilot boat and through irregularities in the purchase of goods embezzled almost Tk5 Crore. The audit team has raised allegations of installing a low quality engine, changing the engine’s nameplate and purchasing goods outside the work order and recommended that the funds be re-covered from the project director.

Shipping minister’s signature forged

Sohel Rana, an inland engineer (ship) at the port was promoted to

the rank of assistant engineer (ma-rine) 1st class last year, allegedly in exchange for Tk10 lakh bribe mon-ey. He was also assigned to three posts at the same time, assistant engineer marine-power, sub-assis-tant engineer marine-machinery and superviser for the port’s oil storage ship.

A 3-member probe committee formed to look into the matter in November last year found the pro-motions to be irregular.

Rana then submitted a recom-mendation letter signed by the Shipping Minister to the chairman of the port authority seeking to keep his promotion.

However, when the port author-ity contacted the ministry, it was told by the minister’s private secre-tary that the signature was forged. The port suspended Rana after this and launched an investigation. l

Female student raped by Jubo League mann Saiful Islam Swapan,

Lakshmipur

A 9th-grade female student was raped allegedly by a union-level Jubo League leader in Dasherhat Bazar area under Sadar upazila on Saturday night.

The victim was undergoing treatment at Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital, said Azizur Rahman, of-� cer-in-charge of Chandraganj po-lice station.

Police said Jamaluddin, Jubo League man of Charsha union council, took the student to his home forcefully around 8pm while she was going to a nearby station-ery shop to buy some books.

Jamal con� ned the girl at his house and raped her. He also threat-ened her not to expose the incident. When locals sensed the matter, they informed the police.

The police rescued the girl in a critical condition and sent to the hospital, said the OC. l

Classes under the open sky for three yearsn Anwar Hossain, C’nawabganj

Students of Chamusha Govern-ment Primary School in Chapain-awabganj's Bholahat upazila have been attending classes under the open sky for the last three years, but the authorities are nonchalant about constructing a new school building.

More than 200 students are en-rolled in the school.

The school had three buildings constructed in 1993-94, but they

soon developed cracks as low-grade materials were used in con-struction.

Three years ago, the then Bhola-hat upazila nirbahi o� cer declared the buildings abandoned after identifying those as risky struc-tures. Some students were then accommodated in three makeshift rooms fenced with bamboo on the school premises while others were compelled to study under the open sky, but fence of two rooms has re-cently been damaged.

A number of parents and Presi-dent of the school's management committee Imran Ali said the num-ber of students was gradually de-clining as new buildings had not been erected.

“The situation gets worse dur-ing the monsoon as students get wet when it rains,” said Imran.

Obaidul Haque, an assistant teacher, said students cannot even get pure drinking water as there is no tube well in the school.

“Then there is the shortage of

furniture such as benches, chairs and tables. The number of teachers is not adequate either,” he said.

Acting head teacher of the school Mosharraf Hossain said the authorities concerned had been asked several times to construct new school buildings but no initia-tive had yet been taken.

“Parents are now increasingly disinterested in enrolling their chil-dren in the school. Some 30 pupils left the school this year,” he said.

The district primary education

o� cer in Chapainawabganj, Dilru-ba Begum, said new school build-ings would be erected soon but did not give any speci� c date.

Chapainawabganj Deputy Com-missioner Zahidul Islam said it is a matter of pity that students have been attending lectures under the open sky for such a long time be-cause of lack of school buildings.

“We prioritise education of young people and will take nec-essary measures to construct new school buildings,” he added. l

Residents of Adarshanagar, Moddhya Badda in Dhaka are seen colleting water from a Wasa pumping station since they have been facing severe water crisis for the last cpuple of weeks MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

n SM Tahmid

Any student who is considering studying abroad is very familiar with the need for extracurricular activities. It is what makes you stand out from the crowd, perhaps not by much but there is no denying that they are actually important. But, how exactly does universities evaluate them, and what criteria do you need to � ll up this part stating your achievements?

This is a question that ignites di� erent schools of thought, one in particular being that the institutions are looking for the jacks of all trades, for which they go o� to cover as many activities as possible, thinking they shall be evaluated on how well they can carry out each of these activities. Typically exploring di� erent talented activities are seen as extracurricular activities, such as art, music, dance, sports etc. But most of the admission experts will assert that competitions and

winning in di� erent events are more important. But which, if any, is vital?

The answer is actually very simple. All institutions are looking to know the person behind the application which, is not truly re� ected by your grades alone. This is what extracurricular activities re� ect – your unique talents, passion, and drive. The jack of all trades is the worst approach here in that standard, as it shows that you lack the passion and drive altogether, and that you are just trying things out, or ful� lling a criteria. The other two approaches are more or less on the spot.

According to various admission committees, the things they are looking for are leadership, passion to achieve, recognition, and the drive to make something new. So if you are the founder or an active member of a club, have been volunteering for an organisation or charity on a regular basis, or

have been awarded for talent in the arts or science, these things will help the committee see that you are the kind of person who is not just a student buried in books, but have gone out there and proven yourself.

That being said, there are no shortcuts to this or any checklists to ful� ll. Just � nd your passion, look for opportunities, and capitalise on them; not because it will improve your image or your chances, but because it will help you become a better

person. But as always, having recognition is important if you are going to include anything in your application.

It is not guaranteed that following this will get you the bulletproof application – no such thing exists! However, it will lend credibility to your actions and enrich your life signi� cantly. Remember that being an all rounder brings the di� erent sides of the coin, but a master of none. l

Content has been reprinted from www.grad-insights.com

Education 9D

T

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

How extra-curricular activitiescan spice up your application

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

Venue: Banani

Test date: May 7, 2016 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: April 30, 2016Test date: May 19 , 2016Module type: IELTS AcademicRegistration deadline: May 12, 2016Test date: May 19 , 2016Module type: IELTS General TrainingRegistration deadline: May 12, 2016Test date: May 28 , 2016Module type: IELTS AcademicRegistration deadline: May 21, 2016

Venue: Dhanmondi

Test date: April 30, 2016Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: April 23, 2016Test date: April 30, 2016 Module type: IELTS General Training Registration deadline: April 23, 2016Test date: May 7, 2016 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: April 30, 2016

Venue: Bashundhara, Baridhara

Test date: April 30, 2016Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: April 23, 2016Test date: April 30, 2016 Module type: IELTS General Training Registration deadline: April 23, 2016 Test date: May 7, 2016 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: April 30, 2016

Venue: Uttara

Test date: May 7, 2016 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: April 30, 2016Test date: May 28, 2016 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: May 21, 2016 l

IELTS dates and locations

tips

Hence:• If it is the arts you are pursuing, try to take part in

competitions.• Be a part of societies, and actively take part in them. If you

founded one, even better – but make sure it gets recognised, perhaps featured in the media for the e� orts.

• Volunteer for good causes, and not just that one time. Be at the call for any emergencies.

• Do not try to get involved in too many things. It just shows, and causes, you to lose focus and not achieve anything.

10DT

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016Health

Too hot to handlen Rad Sharar Bin Kamal

With temperatures tingling around 40°C in the past week, it’s much too hot to take the chances of a heatstroke lightly. Often confused with heat exhaustion, it happens when your body can’t keep itself cool. Here’s the science behind it: when it’s hot, your body evaporates sweat to balance the temperature. When it’s humid, there’s already so much moisture in the air that your sweat can’t evaporate as quickly as it normally would, and your body can’t cool you down fast enough. Before you know it, you’re passing out.

The two conditions, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, are slightly di� erent but complementary. If you‘re su� ering from the former, the latter is just waiting to hit you harder.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion This happens when your body feels too hot to handle, quite literally. Accelerated by physical exercise or prolonged hours in scorching heat, the symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

• Confusion• Dark-coloured urine

(it’s a sign of dehydration)• Dizziness• Fatigue• Headache• Muscle or abdominal cramps• Nausea• Pale skin• Profuse sweating• Rapid heartbeat

When you feel that you have heat exhaustion, � rst and foremost, get out of the heat! The best methods to cool down includes taking a

cold shower and drinking plenty of water to help your body sweat the heat out.

The worst thing you can do at this moment is drink a cool glass of alcoholic beverage or soda (Coke, Pepsi, Sprite etc). Such liquids make the condition even worse.

If you’re not feeling cool within 30 minutes, head to a doctor. If heat exhaustion is not treated, it will almost always lead to a heatstroke, if not worse.

How is heatstroke di� erent? To be completely accurate, a heatstroke occurs when your body taps the temperature of 104°F. Hence, heat exhaustion is simply foreplay before you become hot enough to pass out of a heatstroke.

With numerous survivors, many tend to not take this seriously. Heatstrokes have

enough juice to permanently damage your organs and brain. And of course, putting it lightly, kills you.

The symptoms of this include:

• High fever (104°F or higher)• Severe headache• Dizziness • A � ushed or red appearance to

the skin• Lack of sweating• Muscle weakness or cramps• Nausea• Fast heartbeat

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

• Fast breathing• Confusion• Anxiousness• Seizures

Which medicines a� ect you?If you are under certain medication which falls under the following list, beware as your chances of having a heatstroke is more. Why? These alter the way your body reacts to heat.

• Allergy medication (or antihistamines)

• Blood pressure and heart medication (beta-blockers and vasoconstrictors)

• Diet pills and illegal drugs (amphetamines)

• Laxatives• Antidepressants (and

antipsychotics)• Seizure medication

(anticonvulsants)• Water pills (diuretics)

What to do after all is said and doneIt is normal to be more sensitive to hot conditions after you have experienced a heatstroke. This usually prolongs for a week or so, at which time it is highly advised to love shade a little more than sunshine.

RepetitionIn order to avoid having such a fun ride, the advised courses of action have always been the same. Following them will only help you be stronger throughout the day, and make sure you survive no matter what the sun throws at you. Wear light-coloured clothes, drink plenty of water, use sunscreen and stay indoors. l

The worst thing you can do at this moment is drink a cool glass of alcoholic beverages or soda (Coke, Pepsi, Sprite etc). Such liquids make the condition even worse

INSIDE

The inauguration of new jail facilities at Keraniganj paves the way for the expansion and development of museum and recreation facilities at Dhaka Central Jail.

Being located at a former Mughal fort, the move will also help to preserve older heritage and open up much needed public space in a congested part of Old Dhaka.

It is � tting the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum and National Four Leaders Memorial Museum on the site will now gain the space to feature more exhibits.

Bangladesh needs better museums. Well-designed and properly managed museums do more than just help

educate people about our past. Good museums provide a focus for research and scholarship which can help

to shape a better future by increasing appreciation and insight of the heritage and legacies that have shaped our society.

The best museums are living spaces, which go beyond merely building a monument to the past. They bring history to life by both engaging well with academics and attracting newcomers to become interested in heritage.

It is welcome then that this year’s remembrance of Mujibnagar day brought an announcement that the long-planned museum complex on the site will be completed in the coming year.

As the place where Bangladesh’s � rst government in exile was formed, at the Baidyanathtala mango grove in Meherpur in 1971, it is of historic importance.

The experience of the Liberation War Museum, which is now constructing a new building at Agargaon, is instructive. It has successfully managed to build a program of engagement with international bodies, while at the same time attracting huge interest from ordinary members of the public through its outreach work and education tours.

Bangladesh has much to gain in its public life and scholarship by supporting initiatives to develop better, more accessible museums.

Good museums bring history to life by providing a focus for research and inspiring future generations

All that was wrong this Pohela Boishakh

The irrepressible myth of the Islamic Caliphate We are very enamoured with our Ummah. Never mind that there is no such thing. That between a Moroccan, a Saudi, and an Indonesian, they only have as much in common as a Scottish Presbyterian would have in common with an Ethiopian Copt

PAGE 13

PAGE 12

PAGE 14

By the drop of a needleInterestingly, most of the new collectors of albums, especially those who were born in the 90s and did not get the full thrust of the vinyl culture, are said to be the masterminds behind reviving the recorded discs

Thousands of people with their families usually have joined the event over the last several years. Does this year’s cancelation signal a deathblow to this � ne evening of poetry, song, dance, and merriment?

Bringing history to life

11D

TEditorialMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207

Send us your Op-Ed articles:opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com

www.dhakatribune.comJoin our Facebook community:

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune.

The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors

alone. They do not purport to be the o� cial view of Dhaka

Tribune or its publisher.

n SM Shahrukh

Pohela Boishakh was celebrated with due fanfare and not many reports on molestation

of women were made. However, these are early days yet: News of untoward incidents may still crop up from the rest of the country.

There has already been a report of a cop “misbehaving” with a female student of Dhaka University in the campus. Goes to show that cops are still men � rst, and men in Bangladesh have an inherent tendency to think of all women as fair game. Not that the case is much better around the world.

However, in this case, one or more constables apologised to the female student, a member of the leftist student organisation of DU, and things did not escalate into a major incident.

The government’s measures towards extra security and restricting all outdoor soirees within � ve in the afternoon all but fell on its face, especially on account of this incident of supposed sexual harassment.

The people who ensured that they would spread a blanket of security (many layers, apparently) proved to be the perpetrators. It may be mentioned here that Dhaka University students kept extra vigil to stop any untoward incidents from taking place.

 It was with utter dismay that Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu, a freedom � ghter and cultural activist, mourned that the authorities declined to grant permission for the traditional soiree at the Rabindra Sorobor at the Dhanmondi lakeside -- it has been a tradition to hold such an event starting late afternoon and running into late night.

Thousands of people with their families usually have joined the event over the last several years. Does this year’s cancelation signal a deathblow to this � ne evening of poetry, song, dance, and merriment? Pity. What next?

 I was also dismayed by the tone with which our Prime Minister made her New Year speech at the Gonobhobon.

It’s � ne that she emphasised that observing Pohela Boishakh has no con� ict with religion and that people should not hurt the “feelings” of others. It would have been � ne if it ended there. But calling free-thinking bloggers, en masse, “dirty and people with convoluted mentalities” wasn’t exactly tactful.

I concede that there are many blogs which only serve to titillate hatred among people, but it would be foolish to think that all blog posts are made with similar intentions.

She then went onto emphasise that her life is ruled by Islamic teachings and that she herself gets hurt when someone criticises her religion, that it is to be expected in case of any religious individual, but she then suggested something that will surely end up giving zest to your average machete-wielding mullah: If any “untoward incidents” occur as a result of these free-thinking writings, can anyone blame the government?

Yes, the blame can be put on the government, for its failure to provide security to its own citizens. What our PM should have done is ask the aggrieved to take their complaints to the courts and seek rulings on defamation or libel; instead, she asked people to seek divine justice … in the afterlife, I presume. Later in her speech, she discouraged people to take the law into their own hands, but the damage had already been done.

“Secularism” has, sadly,

become mere lip-service in today’s Bangladesh. Bangalis who fought to remain Bangali and retain their culture have become Muslims � rst and Bangalis second.

I consider myself a Bangali and will do so till my last breath, but a Bangladeshi? I am not that sure anymore.

Hunter S Thompson once wrote: “The only di� erence between the sane and the insane is that the sane have the power to lock up the insane.”

Considering all the draconian measures which were taken by the police to water down Pohela Boishakh celebrations, one is forced to think if the people who want to spend Pohela Boishakh with unbridled joy and fanfare are too insane.

And as such the sane ones, ie the police, need to shoo away or even lock up the insane revelers after 5:00pm.

No matter that they failed abysmally in nabbing and punishing the hoodlums who sexually harassed women last year at Suhrawardy Udyan, a stone’s throw from where the police were stationed, and even later when evidence was published. In turn, they decided to take action against the social media site that highlighted those pictures. I guess the police thought that the hoodlums were acting from a certain level of “sanity.”

They, however, have been looking for the twentysomething woman who lost all her clothes to the rampaging hands of sanity

-- what bloody insane behaviour for a woman to go to a crowded place in the evening! Kudos to the defenders of the law for pinpointing where the problem lies: It’s the bloody women with their “alluring” physical attributes that are too distracting for the criminally sane.

The nation is surely slip-sliding to a puritanical hell, and after a certain point, there is no turning back. Let’s quote Thompson again: “The edge ... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”

This country is standing at the edge of the precipice and is itching to jump into the abyss. l

SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

Opinion12DT

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Restricting people’s enjoyment does not equate to providing security RAJIB DHAR

Thousands of people with their families usually have joined the event over the last several years. Does this year’s cancelation signal a deathblow to this � ne evening of poetry, song, dance, and merriment?

Are we now Muslims � rst and Bangalis second?

All that was wrong this Pohela Boishakh

Opinion 13D

TMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

n Azeem Ibrahim

Today, we su� er of entirely too many generalisations about Muslims. There are many reasons why this is

the case, and our position in the global conversation since 9/11 has no doubt contributed to it. But I believe there is much more to it.

If you consider any national group, Englishmen, Frenchmen, Americans -- one and all have the exact same tendency. Each � nds that, within their own group, no generalisation based on nationality can really be made.

Of the tens of millions of their co-nationals, they will have nothing in common with most of them. But that does not stop them from painting the others with the broad brush of “national character.”

To others, the Englishmen are pompous, the Frenchmen are rude, and the Americans are arrogant. To themselves, such generalisations are quite obviously silly, and sometimes even quite insulting.

Muslims su� er from being painted like this as outsider “others” every day. Everyone seems to know what Muslims are like.

But unlike Englishmen, Frenchmen, and the others, we do not seem to mind being categorised and reduced to “essential character.”

What is quite remarkable about Muslims, I believe, is that we generalise about ourselves almost as much as they generalise about us.

Of course, we do not

generalise in the same ways. But fundamentally, there is no di� erence of mindset. The only thing we object to is the accuracy of the generalisation. Otherwise, we will not hesitate to tell every Muslim or non-Muslim what Muslims do, what they are like, and especially what is expected of them. We never tire of telling each other how Muslims should behave.

Obviously, this is hugely problematic -- not least because it is completely divorced from fact. But it has much more serious consequences. And we ourselves are largely responsible for those consequences.

Talking about ‘Muslims’Take, for example, just the way in which the wider society talks about “Muslims.” Some will make profoundly o� ensive and in� ammatory generalisations: The kind that some of our more impressionable youth have taken as evidence that the West is at war with Islam, just like ISIS would like

them to believe.And then there will be others

who will stand up and point out just how much of a ridiculous generalisation that is.

But what do Muslims, and especially Muslim leaders, do? They go on TV and start some lecture or sermon about the “Muslim community” and its role in society. Notice the singular

“community.” We are very enamoured with our Ummah.

Never mind that there is no such thing.

That between a Moroccan, a Saudi, and an Indonesian, they only have as much in common as a Scottish Presbyterian would have in common with an Ethiopian Copt.

We talk about ourselves as one monolithic thing. And then we are surprised when non-Muslims fail to notice our di� erences and our individuality.

And this is deeply-rooted in the essential character of Islam. When it emerged in the Arabian

Peninsula, Islam was a social revolution against the brutal, violent tribalism of Arabian culture. It established a new community based not on blood ties, but on shared faith in one God, and a shared moral outlook on the world.

But that was a community of a few thousand within a much larger social context. A few

thousand people who self-select to join together in a new group with a new group identity can reasonably be described by that group identity. 1.5 billion people, who were born into the religion, in di� erent places around the world, and in vastly di� erent cultures, will have next to nothing in common beyond their shared humanity.

There is exactly no reason to expect that a Moroccan will have more in common with a Pakistani than he would with a Spaniard, just because they happen to have been born in a culture which calls God by a same name, and

worships him in a vaguely similar way.

And yet, here we are, most of us pretending that all 1.5 billion of us are a community.

This self-delusion may seem benign. Indeed, it is easy to see why we � nd it so charming. But let us not ignore its dark side. It is a profoundly totalitarian thought.

That all 1.5 billion us are not just the same, but that we should be the same. This is what sectarian wars are fought over.

And if we are all the same, of course we should all want to be one body politic -- a Caliphate, like in the Islamic Golden Age.

Never mind that the Golden Age was one bloody sectarian bloodbath after another, typically fought over the dynastic aspirations of petty tyrants and not the high ideals of Islam.

Yet, still we yearn with foggy eyes over an Ummah that has not existed since the 7th century CE, and still we lust over holy Caliphates that never were all that holy. The rest of the world is looking forward. And they are moving forward.

That is the one thing that the historical Muslim caliphates did: They moved forward. Muslims today, not so much. We are still trapped in a fantasy past, when, we think, we were a community, just as we keep � ghting with each other today. l

Azeem Ibrahim is an RAI Fellow at Mans� eld College, University of Oxford and Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College. He tweets @AzeemIbrahim. This article previously appeared in Al Arabiya.

Can there be only one type of Muslim? MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

We are very enamoured with our Ummah. Never mind that there is no such thing. That between a Moroccan, a Saudi, and an Indonesian, they only have as much in common as a Scottish Presbyterian would have in common with an Ethiopian Copt. We talk about ourselves as one monolithic thing. And then we are surprised when non-Muslims fail to notice our di� erences and our individuality

Muslims today are still trapped in a fantasy past

The irrepressible myth of the Islamic Caliphate

Opinion14DT

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

n Towheed Feroze

Are we increasingly � nding solace in the fads of the past? I bet I am not the only one who wants

to drift away to the days when everything did not happen at the press of a button.

It seems that, despite latest gadgets where a mind-boggling number of songs can be stored and played in seconds, music lovers are � nding the time and patience to head for the section in music stores selling records.

Yes, that means vinyl discs.In the last few days, news of the

re-birth of this forgotten culture has been featured in almost all major international news channels, and, people like us, who still have vinyl records at home, possibly found time to fondly pick up an album to go back to the times when an album release not only meant music but also the revelation of art work on their cover � aps.

My initiation to music was pure vinyl, left by my uncles with the collection featuring Dylan, Cat Stevens, The Yardbirds, and Cli� Richards. Memories of humid afternoons are vivid, with numbers like “Young Ones,” “Travellin’ Light,” “Lady D’Arbanville,” “Do You Wanna Dance?,” “Devil Woman,” and “The Evil Hearted You.”

Today, most listeners do not know or possibly care about the album cover design because most times they do not buy the music available on CD, downloading songs straight from the Internet. Convenience this may be, but for instant grati� cation, a whole

unique experience of living the essence of a song or a music album is lost.

For people like us, who are in their mid-40s, the culture of listening to music instantly brings back images of rows of vinyl albums stacked inside record shops in the 80s, such as Rainbow, Soor Bichitra, and Rhythm.

In fact, in the early 80s, Dhaka’s urban middle-class youth had certain spots where they gathered in the afternoon, with “Elephant Road Co� ee House-er goli” (Co� ee House alley) being the hottest of spots. The shops I mentioned were located here, making this area the gathering place for all noted musicians plus Western rock, pop, and heavy metal music fans.

One would not be exaggerating in stating that the Dhaka urban culture of the 80s was de� ned by these shops, where vinyl records assiduously fed the modern music culture. These shops and the recording services they provided resonated with the band phenom-enon that proliferated back then, giving us iconic Bangla music groups like LRB, Feelings, Sudden, Winning, Di� erent Touch, Souls, Nova, Rock Strata, and Warfaze.

Vinyl meant velvet evenings sitting on the verandah with the record player. And, maybe, planning to start one’s own group. Believe me, many actually started this way. The most coveted record player was the one styled in the design of a briefcase. Outwardly, it looked like an o� cial case, but

once opened, it revealed a record player with speakers.

Almost all families had a gramophone player -- a large radio which also had a record player placed to one side. In the 80s, the newest Western music came to Dhaka at least six months after its original release, simply because no system for direct immediate shipment existed. Twice every year, owners of the recording centres, Waseem bhai, Murad bhai, or Tipu bhai, went to Singapore or Bangkok to get the latest releases.

What was latest in Dhaka was half a year or a full year old in London. Therefore, Duran Duran’s Seven and A Ra� ed Tiger album hit the top spot here in late 1984 though it was released in 1983. Michael Jackson’s Thriller reached the top chart in late 1984 (actual release 1983), staying popular all throughout 1985.

As I mentioned earlier, vinyl releases were not just music; the album covers projected the theme of the songs plus the band’s ideology -- and that’ actually a mild way of saying it.

Staring trans� xed at Ozzy Osbourne’s albums (Bark at the Moon, Blizzard of Oz, Diary of a Madman) it became clear that Ozzy stood for eccentricity taken to its limits, while the songs glori� ed all things forbidden: Satanism, an attraction to the underworld, and demonic forces. In fact, the notion that heavy metal music invokes its power from all things linked to the Devil

was established by vinyl records and their transgressive covers.

Black Sabbath album covers always hinted at the triumph of the underworld and reports of on-stage devil worshipping by the band or biting o� a dead bat’s head. This only went on to have their albums being labelled as unorthodox yet appealing. No wonder, in the UK, devout Christians went and smashed Sabbath albums, preaching openly against their songs.

As for Iron Maiden -- who created its own beast called Eddie -- albums were not burned but broken with hammers because it was believed that smoke from burning the albums would poison innocent minds.

How wickedly exciting!You don’t get real life events

like those anymore: No vinyl, no controversial album covers, and no mouth-watering events. I still remember Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet took some time to be digested, creating some blushes.

Of the three recording shops, Rainbow still survives, in the same area, just not on the same spot. Soor Bichitra closed shop more than a decade ago, and one of my childhood friends, Tusher, who is also a famed radio jockey, took over Rhythm and all its albums.

Imti (photographer Imtiaz Alam Beg), another friend, bought Rainbow’s albums when they were sold and has an enviable personal collection ranging from Thin Lizzy to Rory Gallagher.

“I hardly play them, but love to look at the album covers, the lyrics written on the inside � ap and the photos,” said Imti. “At times, on a rainy afternoon, I clean my record player, put on a vinyl, light a cigarette, and enjoy a precious moment which transports me to the past.”

Interestingly, most of the new collectors of albums, especially those who were born in the 90s and did not get the full thrust of the vinyl culture, are said to be the masterminds behind reviving the recorded discs because, opposed to hurried listening to music with immaculate sound, they have developed a penchant for a ritualistic music session involving cleaning a vinyl disc patiently, putting it on a player, creating an atmosphere of surreal serenity, and then savouring that soft purr of the vinyl at the beginning.

Well, if you want to join in the resurgence of vinyl and buy a few, try the old recording shops on the road leading to Gawsia Market from the Elephant Road Bata signal; they still have plenty and while rummaging you may just � nd a gem that will re-ignite some memories of lost days.

As for me, I found a short play vinyl of the Bengali movie, Loraku, featuring the famous 80s song “Bukey Achhe Mon, Money Achhe Asha.”

Happy vinyl hunting! l

Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

Listening to music used to be a more ritualistic experience BIGSTOCK

Interestingly, most of the new collectors of albums, especially those who were born in the 90s and did not get the full thrust of the vinyl culture, are said to be the masterminds behind reviving the recorded discs

The urban culture of the 80s was de� ned by vinyl records

By the drop of a needle

15D

TBusinessMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Capital market snapshot: SundayDSE

Broad Index 4,393.3 -0.3% ▼

Index 1,064.3 -0.2% ▼

30 Index 1,673.2 -0.6% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 3,163.2 -18.9% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol 83.4 -8.7% ▼

CSEAll Share Index 13,534.5 -0.3% ▼

30 Index 12,429.0 -0.4% ▼

Selected Index 8,224.6 -0.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 188.5 -22.8% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol 6.5 -18.1% ▼

bkash clients to receive remittance to cellphones bKash clients will now be able to receive remittance from abroad through their mobile phones sit-ting at home. PAGE 16

ILO mission enquires about workers’ rights, registration of trade unions A high-level mission of Interna-tional Labour Organization has enquired about the current state of workers’ right in forming trade un-ions in Bangladesh and questioned about the slow growth of trade un-ion registration in the readymade garment sector, said a top o� cial at the labour ministry. PAGE 17

INSIDE

CPD: Focus on quality budget to retain economic growthn Kayes Sohel

A quality budget is a must for sus-taining the economic growth of the country, said Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) yesterday.

“The government GDP growth projection of 7.05% for this � scal year is led by public investment, putting its sustainability at risk in future,” observed CPD at a press conference held at CIRDAP audi-toriam in the city.

The upcoming national budget should focus on quality budget and employment generation-led growth for retaining over 7% growth, the think-tank told the press conference organised to present its budget recommenda-tions for the � scal year 2016-17.

“For a long time, we continue to talk about the quality budget. A gap between budgetary projection and implementation is increasing-ly growing, which has reached its peak this � scal year, and because of this, budget loses its credibili-ty,” said Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of CPD.

He continued: “Projection should be on revised budget but not on original budget to make it realistic.” According to the CPD, of the additional GDP growth projec-tion, the government salary hike accounted for 80% and industry and agriculture 20%.

Presenting a keynote paper, CPD research fellow Tow� qul Is-lam Khan said: “The driving force

of GDP growth projection is the public servant’s salary and allow-ance hike, weakening sustainabil-ity of economic growth.”

Actual revenue growth repeat-edly missed its target due to lax implementation of rules, lack of tax compliance and weak govern-ance, observed Khan.

He also stated that many planned reforms had fallen be-hind schedule due to negligence, inertia and failure to recognise the urgency of reforms.

Rejuvenation of private invest-ment has again remained elusive while public investment perfor-mance was the weakest in recent years, he said.

“In view of the discussion above, the upcoming budget will need to raise the quality of budg-

etary and � scal planning and put emphasis on the needed reforms,” said Khan.

He said current economic growth projections should be re-viewed in view of composition of incremental GDP, which is unlike-ly to lead to high job creation.

According to the keynote pa-per, if the growth rates of FY2015 (6.55%) and FY2016 (7.05%) are compared, of the extra growth of 0.5 percentage points, 0.4 percent-age points is expected to be con-tributed by the national pay scale revision. “This then draws atten-tion to issues of both quality and sustainability of the GDP growth.”

“Pace of new employment gen-eration also was unlikely to gain momentum in the backdrop of slowdown in private investment,”

reads the key-note paper.In a recent media report that

during the last two years, between 2013 and 2015 (July-September), only 6 lakh jobs were added to the Bangladesh economy (annual av-erage being only 3 lakh).

This is a drastic drop from the 13.8 lakh jobs that were created annually (on average) between 2003 and 2013, said the paper.

The nature of recent accelera-tion of GDP growth suggests that it is largely driven by rise in public salaries, it said.

“It is highly likely that such boost will last for one more year when the second adjustment is made in view of the newly ap-proved government pay scale (al-lowances). It is crucial that such acceleration in economic growth is accompanied by enhanced private investment and more quality jobs for the large young labour force of the country,” said the paper.

CPD Executive Director Profes-sor Musta� zur Rahman said: “Em-ployment generation is important for quality growth, which will in-crease people living standard.”

He recommended the govern-ment for strengthening national statistical department for data revolution required for imple-menting SDGs.

CPD Additional Research Direc-tor Khondaker Golam Moazzem said private investment was not picking up in line with the rising public investment. l

Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) holds a press conference on next budget recommendations at CIRDAP auditoriam in the city yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

Business16DT

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

bkash clients to receive remittance through cellphones at home n Jebun Nesa Alo

bKash clients will now be able to receive remittance from abroad through their mobile phones sit-ting at home.

Western Union and MasterCard will play a vital role in the new in-ternational service platform intro-duced yesterday at a function in the capital.

The leading mobile � nancial service provider – bKash – will fa-cilitate receiving money home sim-ply, safely and conveniently.

To get the service, an expatriate will have to go to the Western Un-ion to take a secret number which will be used for dispatching money.

Western Union will remit to bKash through the secured net-work of MasterCard.

MasterCard, Western Union, bKash and BRAC Bank jointly launched the international remit-tance service platform in Bangla-desh yesterday.

Shahriar Alam, state minister for the Ministry of Foreign A� airs, at-tended the event as the chief guest.

Remittance will come directly to mobile account holders, but bKash will not handle foreign currency, said bKash Chief Executive O� cer Kamal Quadir.

He said Western Union will send foreign currency to BRAC Bank, and later, the bank will send con-verted money to mobile wallets.

With reference to their own sur-vey, Quadir claims that a person spends Tk128 stepping in and out

of a bank. The service will reduce such expenses as well as allow peo-ple living in remote areas to get money in real time.

“We have experienced some technological hazards in payment network in recent time and also in the past,” said Shahriar Alam.

As the service is based on tech-nology, he suggested all four par-ties involved in the platform to en-sure secured transactions.

It is the � rst time that foreign re-mittance will be credited to bKash

account in real time, said Selim RF Hussain, managing director and chief executive o� cer of BRAC Bank.

Matthew Driver, group execu-tive of Global Products and Solu-tions, MasterCard, and Jean Claude Farah, Western Union EVP and president for Middle East, Africa, Asia Paci� c, Eastern Europe and CIS, also spoke at the function.

According to bKash, customers will simply enter Western Union reference number (MTCN), amount

and PIN while their requests will be processed using MasterCard’s secure payment technology and funds credited to their bKash ac-counts.

Once transfer is completed, funds will be accessed instantly.

Customers can then either cash out their money via bKash agents or utilise their account balance to make person-to-person fund trans-fer. They can also store their mon-ey in their bKash accounts and earn interest on savings. l

MasterCard, Western Union, bKash and BRAC Bank jointly launches International Remittance Service Platform at a city hotel yesterday. Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign a� airs, attended the event as the chief guest MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Stocks open week on back footn Tribune Desk

Stock markets opened the week yesterday with a negative mood as both stock prices and volume of trade declined.

The market began with red in the morning and pro� t booking sell-o� mainly on low cap issues continued at close.

The benchmark index DSEX lost 15 points or 0.4% to close at 4,393, after ending � at in previous two sessions.

The Shariah index, DSES, inched over 1 point to 1,064. The blue chip comprising index, DS30, moved down over 10 points to 1,673.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, ended at 8,224, gaining 22 points.

Trading activities dived as the DSE turnover stood at Tk316 crore, sharply down 19% over the previ-ous session’s value.

Large cap sectors remained al-most � at while low cap sector lost ground.

Non-banking � nancial institu-tion sector was the highest gainer with a rally of 1.5% while engineer-ing sector was the worst loser de-clining 1.3%.

Almost all other sectors, includ-ing textile, insurers, pharmaceuti-cals, power, banks, foods and allied, and telecommunication closed � at.

Power sector continued to domi-nate the trading activities, account-ing for 25% of the total turnover.

Shares of 316 companies were traded on the day. Of these, 91 com-panies closed positive, 146 negative while 46 remained unchanged. l

NBR keen to introduce Halkhata culture in realising due revenuesn Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) wants to utilise the spirit of Halkhata, a part of occasion of Ben-gali New Year, to realise due reve-nues.

“The Halkhata system was in-troduced in the era of Mughal Em-peror Akbar to collect due tax of the state exchequer. The NBR took initiative to introduce the culture to collect due revenue from trad-ers,” NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman said yesterday.

Once introduced, NBR will organ-ise the programmes in the o� ces of the commissioners of all income tax, customs and Value Added Tax (VAT) where businesses and taxpay-ers can pay their due revenues with a festive mood, Nojibur said yester-day at a pre-budget meeting with leading trade bodies of the country.

He also called upon the traders to submit the increased amount of VAT that they collect from their clients in

Boishakh season to the government exchequer at due time.

The NBR chairman revealed the plan while addressing three separate pre-budget discussions with Dhaka Chambers of Commerce and Indus-try (DCCI), Metropolitan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), and Bangladesh Chamber of Indus-tries (BCI) at its headquarters.

Addressing the meeting, DCCI directors welcomed the plan, how-ever, stressed expansion of the tax base instead of putting more bur-den on taxpayers. Currently, 11 lakh people are paying tax regularly al-though around 3 crore people are capable enough to pay tax.

The chamber has asked the NBR to take support from fresh univer-sity graduates for expansion of the tax base in rural areas as the NBR alone does not have logistics to uti-lise the potentiality.

DCCI Director Salim Akhter Khan demanded withdrawal of stamp duty and registration fees

in the secondary market of � ats to boost sales. Currently, there is a 14% tax on registration of any apartment, no matter whether it is new or a used one.

In response, NBR Chief Nojibur said he would take political guidance to move forward with the issue.

For the individual taxpayers, the chamber has recommended � xing the tax-free income limit to Tk3.50lakh from existing Tk2.50 lakh, � nalise the limit for women and elderly persons to Tk4 lakh from existing Tk3 lakh and for phys-ically disabled persons to Tk4.25 lakh from existing Tk3.75 lakh.

It has also proposed to reduce the corporate tax rate for the mer-chant banks from existing 37.5% to 35% and for brokerage operations at 30% from the existing 35%.

The chamber has also demanded that NBR continue package VAT for micro, small and medium enterpris-es until 2021 with a 10% annual hike.

It, however, has proposed to

increase the package VAT rate at Tk15,000 for traders in Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations, Tk12,000 for those in other city corporations, Tk8,000 for munici-palities and Tk4,000 for traders in other areas.

At a separate meeting, Bangladesh Chamber of Industries delegation, led by its Vice-President M Shamsur Rahman, requested the revenue au-thorities to take necessary measures to stop misuse of bonded warehouse facility and misdeclaration of prod-ucts during import stage.

Around 600 shops on Urdu road in old town are selling raw ma-terials for plastic, although all of these products are imported from abroad, they said.

Traders in Nayabazar sells im-ported papers and paper cards, and traders in Islampur sells imported fabrics brought under bonded ware-house facility, they alleged demand-ing NBR attention on the matter.

In response, NBR Chief Nojibur

Rahman said they have kept an eye on many areas, including the Urdu road in old town to prevent such abuse. NBR is working on identi-fying the importers, who misuse such facilities as they are enemies of the state, NBR boss said, adding that the next budget will have pre-ventive indication on the issue.

With its budget proposals, the BCI has stressed NBR’s attention to enacting a clear policy and ensur-ing strict surveillance in providing bonded warehouse facilities. It has also proposed for establishing scan-ner machines in all ports to stop un-der invoicing and misdeclaration.

Meanwhile, the MCCI delega-tion, led by its Tari� and Taxation Sub-Committee Chairman Adeeb H Khan, has recommended the NBR for reducing the highest income tax rate for individual taxpayers at 25% from existing 30% and make the Bhomra Land Port operational to ease congestion from Benapole Land Port and Chittagong port. l

Business 17D

TMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Dhaka Tribune

ILO mission enquires about workers’ rights, registration of trade unions n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

A high-level mission of Interna-tional Labour Organization has enquired about the current state of workers’ right in forming trade un-ions in Bangladesh and questioned about the slow growth of trade un-ion registration in the readymade garment sector, said a top o� cial at the labour ministry.

The topics were raised as the mission held a meeting with the Ministry of Labour and Employ-ment yesterday.

The visiting ILO delegation that arrived yesterday for a three-day tour also held a meeting with Com-merce Minister Tofail Ahmed who had appraised it that the govern-ment was able to ensure workers’ rights, especially in apparel indus-try, and create a workers-friendly environment in factories.

The � ve-member “high-level tripartite mission freedom of asso-ciation and collective bargaining” is led by Elizabeth Onuko, and oth-er members include Sonia Regen-bogen, Marc Leemans, Karen Cur-tis and Veronika Vajdova.

The visit aims to learn the sta-tus of Bangladesh’s workers, their freedom of association, collective bargaining and safety standards, especially in the RMG industry.

“Discussions focused on im-provement of safety standards in factories, and workers’ freedom of association and collective bargain-ing rights,” Mikail Shipar, senior labour secretary, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“ILO mission wanted to know about a sudden fall in growth of trade union registration. But there are signi� cant improvements as nearly 400 trade unions have

been registered over the last three years,” he said.

According to the labour minis-try, a total of 326 trade unions have been registered with Directorate of Labour after the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse that claimed hun-dreds of workers’ lives.

The number of trade unions in the country’s garment industry has increased to 486 in 2015 from 138 in 2012. In 2013 a total of 83 trade unions were registered and in 2014 the number rose to 185. Some 80 trade unions got registered as of August in 2015.

“I informed the mission that the government has taken all neces-sary measures to ensure workers’ rights to have trade unions regis-tered,” said Mikail Shipar.

“The number of employees has increased, and the authorities con-cerned to provide all necessary co-

operation to the workers in trade union registration.”

He said: “We have urged the mission to convey a message to the ILO to take initiatives to train up workers’ leaders so that they can properly apply for registration of trade unions.”

About the slow growth of trade union registration, a high o� cial at the ministry asking not be named said: “As per the rules, the applica-tion for trade union registration is required to have 30% representa-tion of workers. But many came without required number of work-ers’ representation. This is a major reason the growth of registration becomes slow.”

He said in some cases workers’ leaders back-tracked from registra-tion after submission of applica-tion due to alleged mutual under-standing with the owners. l

Economic slump worries as IMF, World Bank pledge action n AFP, Washington

World � nance ministers pledged to boost growth at IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings tainted by lingering worries about the drag-ging global economy and hints of discord.

Pounding home the message that each country needs to take action to ramp up growth, and following another week of relative calm in � nancial markets, the IMF leadership said they were “posi-tive” about the outlook, even as they warned of high risks.

Yet with a rising number of devel-oping countries approaching the two powerful institutions for support to deal with the plunge in commodity markets and tighter credit, there was no clear response to calls to organ-ize an international backup plan if growth begins to stall again. l

Business18DT

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

CORPORATE NEWS

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently signed an agreement with Ria Money Transfer in order to provide remittance payout services in Bangladesh, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, Mohammad Abdul Mannan and Suhail Shamsi, business development director for Ria in South Asia were present at the signing ceremony

Samsung Mobile Bangladesh has recently announced winners of its contest named, Play & Win Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, said a press release. Lead activations, digital and public relations at Samsung Mobile Bangladesh, Mahzabin Ferdous handed over S7 handsets to seven lucky winners

Partex Furniture Industries Limited has recently appointed EMKAY Enterprises Limited as a sales agent for Partex Fire Door, said a press release. Aziz Al Kaiser, vice chairperson of Partex Star Group and Muntasir Kareem, managing director of EMKAY Enterprises Ltd signed the agreement

China and India reform hopes are on holdn Rahul Jacob

Reform hopes in China and India have been placed on hold. When Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge of their respective countries they were seen as both more decisive and more powerful than their predecessors. Early ac-tions raised expectations that China might be able to overcome its addic-tion to investment while India might � nally take steps to get its cumber-some laws out of the way of employ-ers. Yet in the three and a half years since Xi’s elevation, and two years after Modi’s landslide election victo-ry, not enough has changed.

With growth slowing, Beijing has returned to doing what it knows best: ramping up invest-ment. The o� cial goal is to boost total lending by 13% in nominal terms this year. That’s double the target rate for economic expansion,

and implies that avoiding a sharper slowdown, not cutting China’s al-ready-high levels of debt, is the pri-ority. First-quarter data released on April 15 showed GDP growing 6.7% year on year but � xed-asset invest-ment rising by 10.7%.

Additional stimulus in a coun-try dotted with overcapacity seems certain to lead to more bad debts. Any restructuring is limit-ed: though the government said in February that it will lay o� 1.8 mil-lion coal and steel workers, there is no clear timetable. On April 14, International Monetary Fund Man-aging Director Christine Lagarde said the IMF was “concerned” about China following through on revamping struggling state-owned enterprises.

New Delhi’s politicians are equal-ly shy about privatising public en-terprises or laying o� employees. Under Modi, the government has continued the weak-kneed practice

of setting targets for selling small stakes in government-owned com-panies – and then failing to hit them.

Modi has made a start tackling the problem of state-owned banks, the main source of a bad debt prob-lem. Credit Suisse estimates that total problem loans account for as much as 17.8% of overall loans. But a long-term � x requires independ-ent management of public sector banks, which seems as distant a prospect as under Modi’s predeces-sors. Meanwhile, the government has directed banks to extend loans to startups and to provide a back-stop for a poorly designed crop in-surance scheme.

Leading and decisive rolesNeither regime has been totally in-active. Beijing deserves credit for letting foreign investors buy into the Shanghai stock market and for widening the trading band for the renminbi – even if that move

was clumsily handled. New Delhi attracted record foreign direct in-vestment in January and the gov-ernment is once again pushing to get its overdue goods and services tax through parliament.

Even so, these moves have fall-en far short of initial hopes. Inves-tors � xated on the Chinese leader-ship’s 2013 promise of a “decisive role” for markets, while paying less attention to the accompanying pledge of a continued “leading role of the state-owned economy”. In practice, the state leads every time, as shown by its e� orts to prop up the stock market last summer.

Modi’s previous leadership of the intrinsically entrepreneurial Indian province of Gujarat, mean-while, was the reason for optimists to cast him as an Indian version of Margaret Thatcher. But this ig-nored that, as chief minister, he was content with making state-owned enterprises more e� cient,

but not privatising them.These days, China’s Communist

Party and India’s Bharatiya Jana-ta Party rally around nationalism rather than privatisation. Under Xi, China has rattled neighbours in the South China Sea by claiming nearly all of it.

Meanwhile Modi’s party is grow-ing increasing intolerant of dissent, and now says criticising India is un-acceptable. This seems a long way o� from Modi’s winning campaign two years ago. That promised jobs and economic development and was a hit in a country which pro-duces 12 million new job-seekers each year and far too few factory jobs. In India, as in China, politics is once again trumping economics. l

Rahul Jacob is Asia columnist for Reuters Breakingviews, with a focus on macroeconomics and monetary policy. The article was initially published at Reuters.

Oil producers mull output freeze in Doha, Iran stays home n AFP, Doha

Major oil producers gathered in Qatar yesterday for crucial talks on capping production to boost prices, despite Iran’s refusal to take part.

Top energy o� cials from some 15 countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia were at the Doha talks, amid reports a draft agreement was in the works to freeze output at Jan-uary levels until at least October.

Major producers both inside and outside the Organization of the Pe-troleum Exporting Countries are anxious to stem a market nosedive that has cost exporters billions in lost revenue.

From above $100 in mid-2014, oil prices dropped to 13-year lows of around $27 in February due to a supply glut, though they have since rebounded to about $40.

O� cials held “consultations” in the morning and delayed the o� cial start of the meeting from 0600 GMT to the afternoon, a member of the Ecuadorian delegation told report-ers, declining to provide details. Other o� cials con� rmed the delay.

Ecuadoran Hydrocarbons Min-ister Carlos Pareja told reporters that his country would support a plan to freeze output until at least October.

He said proposals under discus-sion also call for “setting up a com-mittee to monitor the freeze,” but provided no further details.

Pareja warned that if no action were taken “there will be huge damage to the oil industry.”

Russia’s RIA Novosti news agen-

cy also quoted Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natiq Aliyev as saying the draft included the output freeze at January levels until October.

The meeting in Doha is a fol-low-up to talks in February be-tween OPEC members Saudi Ara-bia, Qatar and Venezuela plus Russia in which they � rst mooted the output freeze.

Iran won’t ‘give up’ production Saudi Arabia has insisted that all major producers must be on board for the freeze to work, including fellow OPEC member and regional rival Iran.

But Tehran, which has boosted production following the lifting of sanctions under its nuclear deal with world powers, has rejected any talk of a freeze.

Iran had initially said its OPEC representative would participate in the talks but on Sunday Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh announced Tehran would send no delegation at all.

“The Doha meeting is for peo-ple who want to participate in the production freeze plan... but since Iran isn’t expected to sign up to the plan the presence of an Iranian rep-resentative isn’t necessary,” Zan-ganeh was quoted as saying by the Shana news agency.

“Iran will in no way give up its historic production quota,” Zan-ganeh said.

In� uential Saudi deputy crown prince Mohamed bin Salman reiter-ated in an interview with Bloomb-erg published on Saturday that the kingdom would not accept a freeze

without Tehran’s cooperation. But Kuwaiti oil expert Kamel

al-Harami said a freeze agreement was still possible even without Iran.

“Iran is unable to add more than 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) to its production by the end of the year,” Harami told AFP in Doha.

“I believe this will not greatly impact the meeting,” he said.

‘Atmosphere of optimism’ OPEC said on Wednesday that Irani-an oil production in March was 3.3 million bpd, up from 2.9 million in January, but still short of its pre-em-bargo level of around 4 million.

OPEC said its members pumped 32.25 million bpd in March - with Saudi Arabia accounting for nearly a third - up from an average of 31.85 million bpd in 2015.

Saudi Arabia has refused to cut production despite the price fall, as it seeks to drive less-competitive players, especially US shale pro-ducers, out of the market.

But pressure has been building as falling oil revenues hit state cof-fers, with Riyadh posting a record budget de� cit last year.

Host country Qatar said “an at-mosphere of optimism” spread on the eve of the meeting.

Kuwait’s acting oil minister Anas al-Saleh told reporters on arrival in Doha that “he was optimistic” about the success of the confer-ence, which took place as thou-sands of oil workers in his country began an open-ended strike Sun-day to protest against a government proposal to cut their wages. l

n Nusaira A Hassan

The indigenous people of Bangladesh, speci� cally the ones in Chittagong Hill Tracts, have their own festivities that coincide with Pohela Boishakh. However, the intriguing part is that there is no single way of celebrating the New Year. In fact, of the thirteen tribal groups located there, each has its own way of welcoming the upcoming year. Let’s look back at the more renowned ones.

Tribal groupsThe largest tribal group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Chakmas, along with the Marmas and Tripuras, celebrate Boishabi. As a matter of fact, the name itself, Boishabi, is derived from the names of the three major festivals celebrated by the aforementioned tribal groups. Every year, from April 12 to 14, Boishabi is celebrated with pomp and grandeur by the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, namely the regions of Bandarban, Khagrachori and Rangamati. However, Boishabi is more than just an act of celebration for the ethnic community. It is a quest for spirituality as the tribal people bid farewell to the miseries of the previous year and usher in the New Year amidst joy and anticipation. Each indigenous group has its own distinct way of enjoying the festivities with a few overlapping rituals or traditions.

ChakmasBeginning on the last day of the Bengali month of Chaitra, Bijhu is a holy festival of the Chakmas, and is celebrated over the span of three days.

On the � rst day, young girls clean out their houses, and collect � owers, leaves and roots of di� erent plants from the forest as part of a ritual known as “FulBijhu.” The second day is known as “MulBijhu,” when the domesticated animals are

released from captivity and fed. The Chakmas then gather around a temple and chant the name of Buddha, before entering the holy place (known as Kyangs) to hand over their o� erings and light candles. Finally on the third day of the festival, “Goijja-Poijja,” fowls and pigs are slaughtered for a massive feast, where the whole family takes part. Soon afterwards, the Chakmas observe a period of rest, after days of taking part in meticulous celebrations.

Bijhu has its own form of entertainment, where dance and musical performances regale the audience, and instruments like Hengrong and Dhudhuk (varieties of � ute) are played.

The festival also has its own special dish, Pazon, which is prepared using thirty di� erent vegetables, and o� ered to the guests. The signi� cance of this food item is that it is believed to ward o� diseases in the upcoming year.

TripurasThe Tripuras wake up from slumber at the crack of dawn to decorate their houses with � oral arrangements. The animals, including livestock like cows and goats, are adorned with � owers as well. Rice grains are scattered all over the ground as food to the birds. On the � rst day of the New Year, known as “Harboishu,” the Tripuras carry out ceremonies to pay respects to � ora and fauna, as well as animals including insects and birds to appease their deity,

“Goriaya.”In the next ceremony, the

elderly people are bathed and gifted with clothes. This ritual is believed to bring luck for the next year. The youngsters on the other hand rejoice by holding traditional dance performances and travel from village to village, entrancing people with their perfectly synchronised moves.

MarmasThe Marmas begin their celebrations with prayers by o� ering “Jolpuja,” which roughly translates into “worship of water,” as water is considered to be a holy symbol synonymous with respect, future prosperity and blessings from the deity. This is followed by the popular water game, “Shangraine,” where young girls and boys splash each other with water. This is performed to wash away the miseries of the past year, and cleanse oneself in anticipation of the New Year. Apart from that, this ceremony is also used as a platform for young boys and girls to express their love interest.

In the culinary aspect, Marmas spare no expenses as they prepare a feast � t for royalty, in a menu ranging from savory to sweet dishes, including cookies.

The di� erent ethnic groups also arrange for wrestling matches,

known as “Bolikhela,” which is a form of martial art traditionally played in Chittagong. “Boli” is a Bengali word that refers to a powerful person and “khela” simply translates to game. Apart from that, other types of games known as “GhilaKhela” are also organised by di� erent communities, where people from all age groups and communities take part.

The tribal groups also look forward to the alcoholic drinks on o� er this time of the year, which includes beverages such as “dochoani,” “jogorah,” and “kanji” specially made for the Boishabi festival.

Certain communities also bring out processions before the ceremonies begin, where people of all ages and from all walks of life take part.

Though each community has its own distinct rituals, the shared joy is evident everywhere. The Boishabi festival is highly inclusive and encourages people from every creed, race and social standing to join in the celebrations, and take part in the enjoyment. l

Content was printed with the permission of Tiger Tours Limited

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016Culture 19

DT

Boishabi Uthshab

The festival also has its own special dish, Pazon, which is prepared using thirty di� erent vegetables, and o� ered to the guests

PHOTOS: COURTESY

Downtime20DT

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 17 represents S so � ll S every time the � gure 17 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Festivity (4)5 Useful thing (5) 8 Talisman (6)9 Ship’s bed (4)10 Lyric poem (3)12 Minister (6)13 Eats into (6)15 Raised platforms (6) 18 Becomes void (6)20 Monkey (3)21 Location (4)23 Stringed instrument (6) 24 Multitude (5)25 Curved (4)

DOWN 1 Apologue (5)2 Flightless bird (3)3 Garment (5)4 Large deer (3)5 Bears witness to (7) 6 Black deposit (4)7 Rank (4)11 Bird (4)12 Reticence (7) 14 Snare (4)16 Cunning (5)17 Perfume (5)18 Scourge (4)19 Fruit (4) 21 Weep convulsively (3) 22 Metal (3)

SUDOKU

INSIDE

21D

TWorldMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Heat wave: India’s third deadliest natural killerHeat waves are the third biggest cause of death in India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, heat strokes caused 16,000 deaths between 2000 and 2014. Just in 2015, an abnormally long heat wave caused over 2,241 deaths in the country. PAGE 22

Obama immigration action goes before US Supreme CourtThe US Supreme Court will hear a case on Monday that tests the boundaries of presidential pow-ers, confronting the question of whether President Barack Obama exceeded his authority with unilateral action to spare millions of people in the country illegally from deportation. PAGE 24

Countries look to draw expatriate cash with diaspora bondsA growing roster of developing states are turning to their compa-triots abroad to raise cash by mar-keting “diaspora bonds”, a funding strategy successfully pioneered by India and Israel but sometimes tricky to imitate. PAGE 23

#PANAMAPAPERS LEAK

The Clinton connectionn Tribune International Desk

US Democratic presidential race front-runner Hillary Clinton re-cently blasted the hidden � nan-cial dealings exposed in the Pana-ma Papers, but a recent revealtion depicts she and her husband have multiple connections with people who have used the besieged law � rm Mossack Fonseca to establish o� shore entities.

Among them are Gabrielle Fi-alko� , � nance director for Hillary Clinton’s � rst campaign for the US Senate; Frank Giustra, a Ca-nadian mining magnate who has traveled the globe with Bill Clin-ton; the Chagoury family, which pledged $1bn in projects to the Clinton Global Initiative; and Chi-nese billionaire Ng Lap Seng, who was at the center of a Democratic fund-raising scandal when Bill Clinton was president. Also us-ing the Panamanian law � rm was the company founded by the late billionaire investor Marc Rich, an international fugitive when Bill Clinton pardoned him in the � nal hours of his presidency.

However, the Clintons them-selves do not appear to be in Mos-sack Fonseca’s database, nor does it appear that their daughter, Chel-sea, or her husband, Marc Mez-vinsky, who co-founded a hedge fund, are listed, McClatchy, the California-based newspaper that broke the story, reports. The ties are both recent and decades old, not surprising for the Democratic presidential front-runner and her husband, who have been in public life since the 1970s.

Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon declined to answer speci� c questions about her con-nections but referred to Clinton’s earlier comments that criticised the behaviour last week. Bill Clin-ton’s o� ce and the Clinton Foun-dation declined to comment on the matter.

The appearance of several shady businessmen with Clinton connections comes as Clinton’s formidable opponent in the White House race Bernie Sanders has criticised Hillary Clinton for push-ing for the passage of the Panama Free Trade Agreement as secre-tary of state.

The Vermont senator, who op-posed the trade pact, has said that the agreement made it easier for corporations to utilise tax shelters set up in Panama. The 74-year-old democratic socialist has also as-serted that Clinton opposed the trade agreement when she was in

the Senate but � ip-� opped after taking over the State Department.

The ties have also shed lights on the shady relationships the Clintons have developed over the years.

One such link stems all the way back to the Clintons’ Arkansas days. As governor, Bill Clinton met twice with Jean-Raymond Boulle, a diamond miner born in Mauri-tius. After the meetings Clinton granted Boulle mining rights in a state park near Hope, Clinton’s hometown.

According to McClatchy, Boulle was listed as director of two � rms listed in the Panama Papers: Auk Limited, which was listed in the British Virgin Islands, and Gridco Limited, which was registered to the Bahamas.

According to Peter Schweizer, the author of last year’s “Clinton Cash,” Boulle was invited to Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration. At a party after the inauguration, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton donned a 3.5-carat diamond culled from one of Boulle’s mines, according to Schweizer.

Another mining company ap-pears in the Panama Papers.

Giustra’s UrAsia Energy was registered in the British Virgin Island in May 2005, according to McClatchy. That September, Bill Clinton � ew with Giustra on his private jet to Kazakhstan, where

the Canadian hoped to secure a $500m deal for uranium mining rights in the Central Asian nation. Clinton and Giustra met with Ka-zakhstan’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Before leaving the country, Clinton publicly praised Nazarbayev, who was up for re-election.

The mining deal was awarded to UrAsia. Months later, Giustra made a $30m contribution to the Clinton Foundation. The pair later formed the Clinton Giustra Enter-prise Partnership.

A Russian businessman who was reportedly involved in setting up Clinton’s trip with Giustra is also linked to companies named in the Mossack Fonseca records.

Sergei Kurzin is tied to several oil companies listed in the papers, according to McClatchy. The mys-terious � nancier — who reportedly

pledged $1m to the Clinton Gius-tra Sustainable Growth Initiative and gave at least $50,000 directly to the Clinton Foundation — has several connections to players in the Clinton world. Besides deal-ings with Giustra, he also helped Marc Rich develop business rela-tionships in Russia.

On his last day in the White House, Bill Clinton pardoned Rich, who had been indicted by the US government in the 1980s for tax evasion. The controversial move came after Rich’s ex-wife, Den-ise, contributed $1m to the Dem-ocratic party, $100,000 to Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign, and $450,000 to Clinton’s library.

Rich’s Industrial Petrolium Limited appears in the Panama Papers. The company was regis-tered in the Bahamas in 1992.

Ng Lap Seng also used Mossack Fonseca’s services. According to McClatchy, he’s listed as a share-holder of two companies regis-tered in the British Virgin Islands.

Ng is the Chinese billionaire who in 1996 was accused of funneling $1.1m to the Democratic National Committee through a restaurant owner in Little Rock. The restaurant owner pleaded guilty to campaign � nance violations. Ng, who visited the White House nearly a dozen times in the mid-1990s, faced no charges. He was charged last year with bribing a UN o� cial. l

The Clintons at a fundraising gala in New York in 2014 WIKIMEDIA

The Clintons themselves do not appear in Mossack Fonseca’s documents, nor does their daughter, Chelsea, or her husband, Marc Mezvinsky

n Tribune International Desk

For the � rst time in its 140 year history, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) this year has issued temperature advisories for heat waves from April to June. The advisories include an ear-ly warning, akin to the ones issued for heavy rains and cyclones. The forecast is for 15 days at a time, with updates every � fth day. It also includes speci� c temperature forecasts and alerts for up to 100 cities and towns across the country.

While state governments and researchers have focussed on the changes in monsoon patterns due to climate change, e� orts to counter the impacts of heat waves had been virtually non-existent. The Indian National Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the Indi-an National Policy on Disaster Management, 2009, do not consider them to be a natural calamity. The government, therefore, does not devote � nancial and infrastructure resources to the problem.

This despite the fact that heat waves are the third biggest cause of death in India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, heat strokes caused 16,000 deaths between 2000 and 2014. Just in 2015, an abnormally long heat wave caused over 2,241 deaths in the country.

With El Niño expected to be on the wane this year, the heat during summers in India (and in large parts of Asia, Australia and southern Africa) is likely to be severe.

With researchers predicting that heat waves will become in-creasingly severe and frequent, government agencies at federal, state and local levels have begun to take note of the problem.

“We now have the capacity to issue city-speci� c forecasts, alerts and warnings and plan to roll out an expansion to several cities in the near future. While the advisories can help improve vital servic-es in agriculture, processed foods, water and energy, the biggest bene� t would be the support they will provide to healthcare pro-fessionals and the public health system during heat waves,” says Sivananda Pai, head of the Long Range Forecasting division at IMD.

Since heat waves are often caused by a combination of local and large-scale climaticfactors and are captured more accurately with localised forecasts, city-speci� c advisories are likely to be a

INSIGHT

Heat wave: one of India’s deadliest natural killers

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 201622D

T World

(Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra)

(Andhra Pradesh and Telangana)

(Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha)

*Map shows cumulative heat stroke deaths during 2000-2014. Only states with an average of more than 20 deaths per year have been considered

Heat hot spots in India

5,6073,931

2,277

India’s natural killersDespite being one of the top three killers in the country, heat waves are not considered a natural calamity by the government

Sources: Indian National Crime Records Bureau, Indian Ministry of Home A�airs and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

Deaths according to causes (2000-2014)

Lightening Earthquake Heat stroke

Flood Cold & Exposure

Landslide Cyclone/Tornado

Avalanche

32,7

43

14,593 13,548 12,258 11,695

5,056 4,207772

great help for the agencies involved.

States take the leadInitiatives to deal with heat waves have mostly come from state governments. For instance, following the devastating heat wave of 1998, which claimed over 2,000 lives in Odisha, the state put in place district-level disaster management centres. Similarly, after the 2010 heat wave that caused 1,344 deaths in Gujarat’s Ahmadabad, a City Heat Action Plan was launched in 2013 to improve public awareness and promote inter-agency coordi-nation. In mid-March this year, Maharashtra’s Nagpur and Od-isha’s Bhubaneshwar also launched their own city-level plans.

“The experience with Ahmedabad has been very positive.

Local authorities are increasingly realising the requirement of a plan. City-speci� c data from IMD will immensely help in generating warnings and predicting heat waves because it allows better use of vital local factors such as humidity. In coming years, there are several new cities that we will assist in making such a plan,” says Anjali Jaiswal, director of the In-dia Initiative at New York-based non-pro� t Natural Resources Defense Council. The non-pro� t has been a consulting part-ner in all the three action plans (Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Bhu-baneshwar) that have been devised so far in the country. l

[This is an excerpt of a Downtoearth.org.in article, which can be found at http://bit.ly/1TcFLdn]

WorldMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

23D

T

SOUTH ASIAHeavy � ghting continues in Afghan city KunduzAfghan forces fought back a re-newed series of attacks on Kunduz, killing dozens of Taliban � ghters, o� cials said as insurgent forces stepped up to retake the northern city that they captured brie� y last year. The attack on Kunduz, involv-ing hundreds of insurgent � ghters, has intensi� ed just days after the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring o� ensive. -REUTERS

INDIACurfew imposed in Gujarat’s Mehsana Patidar protesters demanding the release of their leader, Hardik Patel, clashed with police in Gujarat’s Mehsana on Sunday, injuring scores, setting a bus on � re and ransack-ing a minister’s o� ce. Authorities clamped a curfew in the district and blocked mobile internet services, while Patidars called a state-wide bandh on Monday. Violence broke out after police denied permission to protesters for a rally demanding the release of their leader. -HT

CHINAChina launches upgraded drills for S China Sea � eetsChina’s South China Sea � eets have conducted training drills with up-graded methods that resemble actu-al combat conditions to increase the � eets’ combat e� ectiveness. Begun on April 7, the drills include new methods such as training within an electromagnetic environment. Previously, the � eets have also conducted all-weather drills and high-speed exercises to hammer their pilots into shape. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFICPhilippine presidential candidate condemned over rape jokeLeading Philippine presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte was angrily condemned on Sunday after a video surfaced of him joking about a murdered Australian rape victim. Duterte appears in a video uploaded on YouTube making the joke about a female Australian missionary, who was ministering in a prison in Philip-pines, was raped and killed during a riot by inmates in 1989. -AFP

MIDDLE EASTIsrael a� rms its hold on Golan HeightsPrime Minister Benjamin Netanya-hu declared on Sunday that Israel would never relinquish the Golan Heights, in a signal to Russia and the US that the strategic plateau should be excluded from any deal on Syria’s future. Israel captured Golan from Syria in a 1967 war and annexed in 1981, in a move that has not won international recognition. -REUTERS

Countries look to draw expatriate cash with diaspora bondsn Reuters, London

A growing roster of developing states are turning to their com-patriots abroad to raise cash by marketing “diaspora bonds”, a funding strategy successfully pi-oneered by India and Israel but sometimes tricky to imitate.

Some 250m people, around 3% of the world population, live outside their native countries, according to World Bank data from 2013. They are an important source of funding for their home-lands: last year they sent home around $440bn- three times more than global development aid.

Cash raised by governments directly by marketing securities to their overseas citizens repre-sents just a tiny fraction of that, but looks set to grow, judging by a number of recent announcements.

Egypt has announced debt cer-ti� cates denominated in dollars and euros to ease hard currency shortages. Kosovo, which esti-mates a third of people of Kosovan descent live abroad, proposed issuing bonds for expatriates last month. Sri Lanka discussed such bonds last year, and Nigeria has tried to revive plans for a diaspora issue after naming Goldman Sachs and Stanbic as advisers on a pro-posal in 2014.

But not all such e� orts succeed. Many countries overestimate the generosity of their natives abroad.

One high-pro� le example was Greece, which proved unable to raise a hoped-for $3bn from the million-strong Greek community in the US at the height of its debt crisis in 2011.

Ethiopia’s 2009 bond to fund a hydro-electric dam failed chie� y because it could not convince in-vestors it would repay the debt. Some also objected to the project on environmental grounds.

In 2009 and 2010, Nepal raised a fraction of its target when it of-fered yields below 10% over � ve years on rupiah bonds - well be-low local rates at the time. Mol-dova also decided not to issue diaspora bonds, concluding that Moldovans abroad who were will-ing to invest in its currency would probably prefer local bank ac-counts that pay 25% interest.

Tapping the poolThe lure of a diaspora as an invest-ment pool is clear.

Investors with a personal link to a country are often happier than other outsiders to take risks in the local currency, and at lower yields, says Dilip Ratha, manager of the World Bank’s Migration and Re-mittances Unit, who advices gov-ernments on diaspora funding.

They can also be more willing stick around in a crisis than the big funds that dominate emerging market debt, he added.

Governments dreaming of

cheap funds from loyal expatri-ates in hard times can look to the example of India. Diaspora funds bailed it out from a 1991 balance of payments crisis and raised $4.2bn in 1998 to o� set international sanc-tions imposed after nuclear tests, double the amount initially sought.

Israel, which has raised more than $40bn via diaspora bonds since 1951, saw uptake soar during its 1967 war.

Some countries have gone to great lengths to forge lasting emo-tional ties that could translate into investments one day, said Liesl

Riddle, a George Washington Uni-versity professor, who has studied diaspora � nancing., highlighting Georgia, which has established a ministry of diaspora a� airs and organises regular get-togethers in the capital Tbilisi for overseas Georgians visiting the homeland.

Homestrings, a platform creat-ed to put potential diaspora inves-tors in touch with opportunities, has raised funds for infrastructure projects in Kenya, and o� ers US-based Macedonians the chance to invest in small businesses back home. l

COUNTRY IN BILLIONS ($)

1. India 68.91

2. China 63.938

3. Philippines 28.483

4. Mexico 24.792

5. France 22.982

6. Nigeria 20.658

7. Egypt 19.71

8. Pakistan 19.255

9. Bangladesh 15.359

10. Germany 15.088

SOURCE: WORLD BANK

TOP 10 REMITTANCE EARNERS IN 2015

INSIGHT

‘Francis gave us a new life’n AFP, Rome

The Syrian Muslim refugees taken in by Pope Francis following his visit to the Greek island of Lesbos have hailed the ponti� as a “sav-iour” for o� ering them a new life.

In a hugely symbolic move seen as a lesson in solidarity for Europe, Francis, who is himself the son of Italian migrants in Argentina, on Saturday took 12 Syrians from three families -- all Muslims -- home with him from Lesbos to the Vatican.

“All refugees are children of God,” the 79-year-old pope said on the � ight back to Rome refer-ring to their religion, adding that though his gesture was “a drop in the ocean” he hoped “the ocean will never be the same again”.

In an interview with Italian daily La Stampa, the families, who spent their � rst night in Rome at a Catholic charity, expressed their gratitude to the ponti� for his

“gesture of hope”.“We saw friends and relatives

die in the rubble, we � ed Syria be-cause we no longer had any hope,” said Hasan, an engineer from Da-mascus, who arrived in Italy with his wife Nour and two-year-old son.

“In Lesbos, we understood that we were stuck in a place that we could not leave, (we were) in a trap, a prison”, he said describ-ing the pope as “our saviour” for whisking them o� the island, where thousands of migrants risk being sent back to Turkey under a new EU-Turkey deportation deal.

“We are grateful to the pope, we will prove ourselves worthy of this opportunity and the gift he gave us,” Ramy, a 51-year-old teacher from the Dae’sh-occupied city of Deir Ezzor, told La Stampa. Ramy � ed the war-torn country with his wife Suhila and three children -- sons Rashid, 18 and Abdelmajid, 16, and seven-year-

old daughter Al Quds.The three families, who had

initially set their sights on reach-ing Germany or another European country, are now expected to seek

asylum in Italy.Their arrival brings to around

20 the number of refugees living in the Vatican, which has under 1,000 inhabitants. l

Pope Francis welcomes a group of Syrian refugees after landing at Ciampino airport in Rome following a visit at the Moria refugee camp in the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday REUTERS

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 201624 WorldD

T

USARepublican Ted Cruz scoops up 14 more delegates in WyomingRepublican Ted Cruz picked up more delegates in the race for the White House Saturday, winning all 14 that were up for grabs at his party’s state convention in Wyoming. The sweep comes as the Texas senator is attempting to chip away at rival Donald Trump’s lead in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination. -AFP

THE AMERICAS5 more Canadian Attawapiskat children attempt suicide5 children tried to take their own lives on Friday evening in a Canadian aboriginal community of 2,000 that has declared a state of emergency over repeated suicide attempts, its chief said. Chief Bruce Shisheesh of the Attawapiskat First Nation in the province of Ontario con� rmed the news on Saturday. -THE GUARDIAN

UKUK faces shortfall of 10,000 primary school places UK faces a looming crisis over prima-ry school numbers as o� cial � gures point to a shortfall of 10,000 places across the country within 4 years. The latest government’s own data reveals councils across the south-east, the Midlands and the north of England will have more pupils than places by 2019-20. -THE GUARDIAN

EUROPEPoll: Most Germans oppose Merkel on prosecution of comedian Two thirds of Germans oppose Chancellor Angela Merkel’s deci-sion to allow prosecutors to pursue a case against a German comedian who mocked Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan, a poll published on Sunday showed. Merkel an-nounced her decision on Friday after Erdogan demanded that Germany press charges against Jan Boehmermann after he recited a sexually crude satirical poem about the Turkish leader. -REUTERS

AFRICAEthiopia: South Sudan gunmen kill 140 in raid Ethnic Murle armed men from South Sudan have killed around 140 people and kidnapped a num-ber of others in a cross-border raid into Ethiopia, the Ethiopian gov-ernment said Sunday. The Murle, a tribe from South Sudan based in the eastern Jonglei region, often stage raids to steal cattle. They attacked the Nuer tribe, one of the two main ethnic groups in South Sudan, but who also live across the border in Ethiopia. -AFP

FACTBOXLegal questions to be addressed in the immigration caseWhen the US Supreme Court on Mon-day takes up a challenge brought by Texas and other states to President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration, the eight justices face a series of legal questions beginning with whether Texas and the other state challengers even have grounds to bring the case.

Here is a look at some of the key legal questions in the case--

Legal standingTo bring a case, challengers must � rst demonstrate that they have legal “standing,” arising from some injury or negative consequences. In this case, that means the states need to show that they would be hurt by the Obama administration’s deferral of deporta-tion for immigrant parents and chil-dren with deep ties to the US but who are in the country illegally. The state of Texas has taken the lead in the lawsuit against the Obama administration to block the president’s actions. Texas asserts that it has standing largely because of the expected � nancial cost to the state of processing temporary driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants with new authorisation to live in the US. Texas subsidises the cost of pro-cessing driver’s licenses and contends Obama’s actions would cost it millions of dollars. The Obama administration rejects that basis for standing to � le suit, asserting that any such costs are “incidental” and could be avoided by the state. Obama administration law-yers say Texas could eliminate the subsidies for these driver’s licenses and eliminate the harm claimed by the state. If a majority of the justices � nds that Texas lacked a su� cient in-jury to sue, the case of United States vs Texas ends there and the Obama

administration wins.

Rule-making requirementsIf the justices agree that Texas has standing to bring the case, they then would consider whether deferred-de-portation policies that were part of Obama’s actions violated rule-making requirements in a federal law called the Administrative Procedure Act. Under that law, US federal agencies typically must issue a general notice of a proposed rule and give inter-ested parties a chance to comment. Obama administration lawyers say the deferred deportation practices are not binding rules subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. Rath-er, they characterise these policies as an outgrowth of the US Department of Homeland Security’s discretion in determining deportation priorities. The administration contends that the homeland security secretary should be able to focus his department’s lim-ited resources on deporting serious criminals and securing the border.

‘Take care’A � nal possible question for the jus-tices is whether the deferred depor-tation violates a dictate of the US Constitution that presidents must “take care” to “faithfully execute” the nation’s laws. Texas and the other states that brought the lawsuit say Obama, in taking executive action that bypassed Congress, crossed that line because Congress is in charge of deciding who is a lawful or unlawful immigrant. The Obama administra-tion says it was faithfully executing the authority to determine priorities under immigration law. l

Source: REUTERS

Obama immigration action goes before US Supreme Courtn Reuters, Washington, DC

The US Supreme Court will hear a case on Monday that tests the boundaries of presidential pow-ers, confronting the question of whether President Barack Obama exceeded his authority with uni-lateral action to spare millions of people in the country illegally from deportation.

The case, one of the most con-sequential of the court’s current term that ends in June, pits Oba-ma against 26 states led by Texas that � led suit to block his 2014 immigration plan.

The highest court of the US soil is evenly divided with four liberal justices and four conserv-atives following the February death of conservative Antonin Scalia. That raises the possibility of a 4-4 split that would leave in place a 2015 lower-court ruling that threw out the president’s ex-ecutive action that bypassed the Republican-led Congress.

The arguments in the case come at a time when immigration is a di-visive issue in the US presidential campaign, with top Republican contenders advocating deporting all of the estimated 11 million peo-ple in the country illegally.

Obama took the action af-ter Republicans in the House of Representatives killed bipartisan legislation, billed as the biggest overhaul of US immigration laws in decades and providing a path to citizenship for illegal immi-grants, that was passed by the Senate in 2013.

Obama’s plan was tailored to let roughly 4m people - those who have lived illegally in the US at least since 2010, have no crimi-nal record and have children who are US citizens or lawful perma-nent residents - get into a pro-gramme that shields them from deportation and supplies work permits.

Obama’s programme was called Deferred Action for Par-ents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA).

Shortly before the plan was to go into e� ect last year, a federal judge in Texas blocked it after the Republican-governed states � led suit against the Democratic president’s executive action. The New Orleans-based 5th US Cir-cuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision in November.

The Supreme Court’s ruling is due by the end of June.

Obama’s action arose from frustration within the White House and the immigrant com-munity about a lack of action in politically polarised Washington to address the status of people, mostly Hispanics, living in the United States illegally.

Obama has drawn Republican ire with his use of executive ac-tion to get around Congress on immigration policy and other matters including gun control and healthcare. On the immigra-tion action, the states contend Obama exceeded the powers granted to him by the Constitu-tion by intruding upon the au-thority of Congress. l

THE QUAKE THAT ROCKED ECUADOR

People stand on the debris of a Manta building after the earthquake struck on Saturday REUTERS

People walk near a damaged house after an earthquake struck o� the Paci� c coast in Manta, Ecuador on Saturday REUTERS

25D

TSportINSIDE

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Inzamam quits as Afghan coachFormer Pakistan cricket captain In-zamam-ul-Haq is set to be appoint-ed as the country’s chief selector after he was released from his role as Afghanistan’s head coach. The 46-year-old guided Afghanistan to the Super 10 stage of the recent World Twenty20 in India. PAGE 27

Abahani rope in Croatian managerHaving tried their luck with Austro-Hungarian coach George Kottan last season, Abahani Limited this time around have brought in Serbia-born Croatian manager Drago Mamic as the new head coach of the club. The 62-year old tactician ar-rived in the capital yesterday. PAGE 26

10-man Foxes earn hard-fought drawLeicester City stumbled on their march towards the English Premier League title when they drew 2-2 with West Ham United and had goalscorer Jamie Vardy sent o� at the King Power Stadium yesterday. PAGE 28

Rosberg romps to treble in ChinaNico Rosberg stormed to victory in a chaotic Chinese Grand Prix yesterday. The German’s Mercedes was jumped at the start by Daniel Ricciardo but after avoiding the � rst-corner mayhem unfolding behind the front two, he quickly caught the Red Bull. PAGE 29

8 DPL clubs squeeze into Mirpur facilityn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The National Cricket Academy ground in Mirpur over the last week has hosted at least eight clubs out of the twelve taking part in this season’s Dhaka Premier League. This, despite some of these clubs having their own grounds in di� erent parts of the capital.

Big name clubs like Abahani Limited, Mohammedan Sporting Club, Brothers Union, Kalabagan Krira Chakra and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club have held practice sessions at the small training ground. Though it has some of the best facilities in the country, the whole picture is of chaos as teams end up, quite literally, stepping on each other’s toes.

Abahani and Mohammedan have their own facilities in Dhanmondi and Motijheel respectively but both are having constructions so the grounds

aren’t available to the cricket teams. Brothers Union also have a ground in Gopibagh while Sheikh Jamal have their own facility in Dhanmondi. The two Kalabagan clubs and Cricket Coaching School are all based in Kalabagan.

The only clubs who are not training in Mirpur are Gazi Group Cricketers who have camped in Rajshahi while Prime Doleshwar Club and Legends of Rupganj have settled in Fatullah. Prime Bank Cricket Club have trained in the northern part of Dhaka and also in the Academy ground.

“The clubs request the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis for using the BCB-owned facilities. The request gets relayed to the BCB Grounds and Facilities who allocates the facilities accordingly,” Syed Abdul Baten, BCB’s grounds manager informed Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Jalal Younus, the BCB media and communication chairman and Abahani Limited vice-

president, said it is sad that the culture of having own infrastructure has not developed over the last several years. He said the club grounds are also not up to the mark in terms of facilities that a modern cricketer needs.

“We have been trying to � nd out a � eld and renovate it so that the Premier League clubs can practice but there is hardly an empty spot in Dhaka. There is this TNT ground that we have been in talks with. And those who have got the � elds are not up to the mark so they need to go to Mirpur anyways. Financial factor is a big reason behind slow development,” Jalal explained.

“I would always like to have an exclusive practice session for my team but we cannot have that due to limitations. There are e� orts from the board to encourage the clubs to have their own infrastructure. I believe things will change, soon,” the BCB director added. l

Mashrafe hoping to silence doubtersn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The recently held Players by Choice system of the Dhaka Premier League season 2015-16 came in as a surprise to many as the veteran paceman had to wait till the 11th and penultimate call to get a team. Kalabagan Krira Chakra eventually recruited the right-arm pacer.

This has not surprised Mashrafe one bit. Rather, the Bangladesh limited-over captain informed that such incidents inspire him to bring out his best.

“This had happened in the last Dhaka League too. Mohammedan took me at the last moment. But by the grace of the Almighty, I have performed well for almost all the teams. We had a bad run in Mohammedan but we did win four matches at a stretch and quali� ed for the Super League,” Mashrafe told the media at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

“Even in the last BPL (Bang-ladesh Premier League) season, there were some talks after Comilla Victorians chose me from the play-ers’ draft. But I never get annoyed. Instead, I get determined to go out on the � eld and prove myself,” said Mashrafe.

Mashrafe’s side, Kalabagan KC have not been a top-ranked out� t in the last couple of seasons. Even this time around, they aren’t highly ambitious of attaining success. With a mediocre team in their disposal, Kalabagan’s � rst aim will be to improve on their 10th place � nish last season.

Going by the team’s theme, Mashrafe too refrained from stating that Kalabagan will harbour hopes of becoming champions but hinted possibilities of fetching good results.

“I will never declare that this team will be the champions this year but to be honest, I do have the desire. There will be many who will not like to play for this team but I believe it is possible to get some results. If our opponent team needs two players to perform, we will need four and this is not an impossible task. There are a few senior members in the team,” Mashrafe explained. l

Bangladesh Test captain Mush� qur Rahim (L) gets ready for training while Mahmudullah (R) and Saqlain Sajib share a light moment in Mirpur yesterday COURTESY

I never get annoyed. Instead, I get determined to go out on the � eld and prove myself

26DT Sport

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

DHAKA PREMIER LEAGUE 2015-16 PREVIEWPRIME DOLESHWAR SPORTING CLUB

One of the most competitive and professional clubs in the DPL for the past few years, Prime Doleshwar have set a good standard in the domestic cricket arena. Runners up in the previous season, Doleshwar will be eager to maintain their consistency in the forthcoming edition.

Following a lot of ups and downs in the national side in recent times, Nasir Hossain will be looking to utilise the opportunity in the prestigious 50-over competition, along with opening batsman Rony Talukdar and experienced campaigner Farhad Reza.

English cricketer Dawid Malan was instrumental for Doleshwar in the previous season so the club would do well to retain the services of the left-handed batsman.

RESULTS(Last Three Seasons)

2014-15 (runners-up), 2013-14 (third), 2011-12

(seventh) PLAYERS TO WATCH

Nasir Hossain, Rony Talukdar, Farhad Reza, Ziaur Rahman

SQUAD (so far) Nasir Hossain, Farhad Reza, Rakibul Hasan Jr, Al Amin Hossain, Rahatul Ferdous, Imtiaz Hossain

Tanna, Sahagir Hossain Pavel, Ziaur Rahman, Zakaria Masud, Rony Talukdar, Sanjamul Islam

GAZI GROUP CRICKETERSThe newest inclusion in the 2015-16 season, Gazi Group Cricketers, who were promoted from the First Division League under the title Magnum Cricketers, will be the team to watch out for this season.

Head coach Mohammad Salahuddin, under whose stewardship Comilla Victorians won the third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League recently, will have a great in� uence on the side. He previously worked as the � elding coach of Bangladesh.

Gazi’s squad is a mixture of youth and experience. With that said, established domestic cricketers like Alok Kapali, Shamsur Rahman and Anamul Haque will have to lead from the front.

RESULTS

They will be making their maiden appearance in the upcoming edition

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Alok Kapali, Shamsur Rahman, Anamul Haque, Mohammad Sharif

SQUAD (so far)

Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Mohammad Sharif, Farhad Hossain,

Delwar Hossain, Mohammad Forkan, Abu Sayem Chowdhury, Nasir Uddin Faruk, Sajedul Islam, Imamul Mustakin Russel, Alok Kapali, Md Elias

-MAZHAR UDDIN

Abahani rope in Croatian managern Tribune Report

Having tried their luck with Aus-tro-Hungarian coach George Kot-tan last season, Abahani this time around have brought in Serbia-born Croatian manager Drago Mamic as the new head coach of the club.

The 62-year old tactician arrived in the capital yesterday morning and watched Abahani’s KFC Inde-pendence Cup match against Ar-ambagh at Bangabandhu National Stadium in the afternoon.

Mamic, an Uefa Pro License holder, has the experience of coach-ing in Asia for around 16 years. He previously performed his duties as the head coach of the Myanmar and Maldives national teams.

“I had some information that Abahani club are playing a lot of national team footballers. I’m working in Asia for a long time now and have experience with some top clubs here. I will try to adapt very fast in Bangladesh football,” said Mamic while closely observing the Abahani game from the stand.

Regarding Mamic’s appoint-ment, Abahani coach Satyajit Das Rupu said, “He has a good knowl-edge and experience about Asia and South Asia football. We hope he will bring in the mentality of a champion to the team and deliver beautiful football on the pitch.”

Mamic also coached Indian Super League side Churchill Brothers in the 2010-11 season but his last club assignment with Indonesian Super League out� t Persib Bandungs end-ed in a bitter fashion after only six months. Before his coaching career, Mamic played in the Croatian � rst division for NK Orijent. l

BFF election hots upn Tribune Report

Current Bangladesh Football Fed-eration president Kazi Salahuddin yesterday announced his 21-mem-ber panel for the upcoming elec-tion of football’s governing body in the country, scheduled to be held on April 30.

The 21-member panel collect-ed the nomination papers on the deadline day of the distribution of forms yesterday.

Although Salahuddin and cur-rent senior vice president Abdus Salam Murshedy will � ght for the same posts as before, there are two changes in the race for the vice president’s posts.

Kazi Nabil Ahmed and Bad-al Roy will vie for their previous posts while Shamsul Haq Chowd-hury and Mahiuddin Ahmed Mahi are the new candidates in place of Tabith Awal and Arif Khan Joy.

Tabith is also battling it out for the vice president’s post as an inde-pendent candidate.

The opposition alliance, under the banner “Bachao Football”, also

revealed the � nal list of its panel with Narsingdi-2 MP Kamrul Ashraf Khan Poton and Sheikh Jamal DC president Manjur Kader vying for the president and vice president’s posts respectively.

Meanwhile in the opposite pan-el, three Bangladesh Cricket Board directors and a former director collected nomination forms for di� erent posts yesterday. Apart from Kader, Mohammedan direc-tor-in-charge Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan bought two forms for the senior vice president’s post and vice president’s post.

BCB director Nozib Ahmed also bought a nomination form for the vice president’s post while two more forms for the senior vice presi-dent’s post and vice president’s post were purchased by former board di-rector Dewan Sha� ul Are� n Tutul.

Welcoming all the guests, Sala-huddin yesterday said, “One thing that makes me happy is that the BFF has reached such a standard that a lot of people showed interest to come here. Best wishes to every-one and may the best man win.” l

Mohammedan thump Ctg Abahanin Tribune Report

Mohammedan Sporting Club pro-duced a superb display handing new powerhouse Chittagong Abahani a 5-1 thrashing in their Independence Cup Group A match at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Ismael Bangoura netted twice, in the either side of each half, while

Masuk Miah Jony, Biplu Ahmed and Yusuf Sifat were also on the score-sheet as the port city out� t tasted their � rst defeat of the com-petition.

Meanwhile in the day’s other match at the same venue, 10-man Abahani Limited were held to a goalless draw by Arambagh Krira Sangha in a Group B encounter. l

President’s post candidates (1)Combined panel: Kazi SalahuddinBachao football panel: Kamrul Ashraf Khan PotonIndependent: Golam Rabbani Helal and Nurul Islam NuruSenior VP’s post candidates (1)Combined panel: Abdus Salam MurshedyBachao football panel: Manjur Kader, Dewan Sha� ul Are� n Tutul, Lokman Hossain BhuiyanVice-president’s posts candidates (4)Combined panel: Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Badal Roy, Mahiuddin Ahmed Mahi, Shamsul Haque ChowdhuryBachao football panel: Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu, Lokman Hossain

Bhuiyan, Nozib Ahmed, Dewan Sha� ul Are� n TutulMembers’ posts candidates (15)Combined panel: Harunur Rashid, Amirul Islam Babu, Satyajit Das Rupu, Fazlur Rahman Babul, Elias Hossain, Saleh Zaman Selim, Showkat Ali Khan Jahangir, Mahfuza Akter Kiron, Mahiuddin Ahmed Selim, Tow� qul Islam Tofa, Arif Hossain Moon, Azmal Ahmed Tapan, Amit Khan Shuvra, Abdur Rahim and Alamgir Khan AloBachao football panel: Kaiser Hamid, Rumman bin Wali Sabbir, Nowsheruz-zaman, Abu Hossain Chowdhury Prince, Kamrunnahar Dana, Abdul Ga� ar, Sheikh Mohammad Aslam

An action of the KFC Independence Cup match between Abahani Limited (R) and Arambagh at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Sport 27D

T

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Vettel slams Kyvat’s ‘suicidal’ China driveSebastian Vettel labelled Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat “a madman” after a � rst-corner clash between them and Vettel’s Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at the Chinese Grand Prix yesterday. Kyvat’s aggressive charge into turn one where the Ferraris were already wheel-to-wheel forced Vettel to take evasive action, the German hitting Raikkonen, who had to pit to repair damage to his car.

–AFP

Middlesbrough lead charge towards EPLMiddlesbrough opened up a two-point gap at the top of the Champion-ship when they beat relegated Bolton Wanderers 2-1 on Saturday while Burnley won by the same scoreline at Birmingham City to go second. Boro had started the day a point ahead of Brighton, who beat Fulham 5-0 on Friday but dropped to third after Burnley’s win at St Andrews.

–REUTERS

Fatherhood not form Murray’s priorityAndy Murray has rejected sug-gestions fatherhood is behind his recent form slump, although he stressed being a good parent to his daughter was now took priority over his tennis. Some observers have suggested there is a link between the fact that British star Murray has won just twice on the ATP World Tour since reaching the Australian Open � nal in January and the birth of his daughter, Sophia, in February.

–AFP

Zidane won’t settle for Champions League winReal Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane claimed he wouldn’t settle for just winning the Champions League this season after moving to within a point of Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a 5-1 thrashing of Getafe. “Today I wouldn’t sign for that,” said Zidane when asked if he would settle for winning Madrid’s 11th Champions League at the expense of La Liga.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

DAY’S WATCHFOOTBALL

STAR SPORTS 11:00AM

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Stoke City v Tottenham Hotspur

CRICKET SONY SIX, SONY ESPN

8:30PMIndian Premier League Hyderabad v Mumbai

Rangers goalkeeper Wes Foderingham makes a save at the feet of Celtic's Leigh Gri� ths (R) during the Scottish Cup semi-� nal at Hampden Park, Glasgow yesterday AP

Inzamam quits as Afghan coach, set to take Pakistan jobn Reuters, Karachi

Former Pakistan cricket captain In-zamam-ul-Haq is set to be appoint-ed as the country’s chief selector after he was released from his role as Afghanistan’s head coach.

The 46-year-old Inzamam guid-ed Afghanistan to the Super 10 stage of the recent World Twen-ty20 in India, during which they defeated eventual champions West Indies. He had a contract with the Afghan board (ACB) until the end of the year.

ACB chief Sha� q Stanikzai said he had received a request from his Pakistan Cricket Board counterpart Shaharyar Khan to release the for-mer batting great from his contract.

“Today Shaharyar Khan called me and asked a favour to release In-zamam-ul-Haq as they are keen to hire him,” Stanikzai told reporters.

Pakistan exited the World T20 after losing three of their four games in the Super 10 stage prompting head coach Waqar You-nis to resign.

Inzamam played 378 one-day internationals and 120 Tests for Pa-kistan and also served as the team’s batting consultant for a brief period in 2012. l

Sri Lanka warns Malinga against IPL matches n AFP, Colombo

Sri Lanka cricket authorities yester-day warned injured fast bowler La-sith Malinga against playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League without clearance from them.

Malinga, su� ering a knee injury that forced him out of the World Twenty20, is in India where he has signed with the Mumbai Indians, although the veteran did not play in the franchise’s � rst two outings.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said Ma-linga needed its clearance to play in any IPL matches and must return to Colombo for a � tness assess-ment this Wednesday before any IPL appearances.

“We have no problem with Ma-linga travelling to Mumbai to be with his IPL team,” the spokes-woman for SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala told AFP. “But in or-der to play, he must get a NOC (no objection certi� cate) from SLC.”

“Malinga has not informed Sri Lanka Cricket of his travel to India nor his intention to play in the IPL,” she said.

After Wednesday’s � tness as-sessment, “the board will decide what course of action should be taken”.

Malinga was dropped as Sri Lan-ka captain on the eve of the World T20 in India in March and April be-cause of his injury and after presid-ing over Sri Lanka’s dismal show-

ing in the Asia Cup.The paceman has a long histo-

ry of injury problems and gave up Test cricket in 2010, saying he was unable to withstand the rigour of � ve-day matches.

But Malinga is the IPL’s all-time highest wicket taker. And the 32-year-old is considered an invaluable member of the Sri Lan-kan team, with teammate Thisara Perera describing him during the World T20 as irreplaceable. l

Sri Lanka’s Herath retires from short formatsn Reuters, Colombo

Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath has retired from 50-over and Twen-ty20 internationals in order to carry on playing Test matches, the coun-try’s cricket board said yesterday.

The 38-year-old took 74 wickets in 71 one-day internationals and an-other 18 in 17 T20 matches for the island nation, shouldered the bur-den of the spin attack following the

retirement of Muttiah Muralidaran.“Every cricketer has to stop at the

right time, I feel it’s time to make room for fresh talent to be groomed with the 2019 World Cup in view,” Herath was quoted as saying in a statement from Sri Lanka Cricket.

“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes Her-ath nothing but the best as he con-tinues to play cricket in his chosen discipline, and in all future endeav-ours,” the board said. l

RANGANA HERATHLimited-over career

Competition ODIs T20Is

Matches 71 14

Runs scored 140 2

Balls bowled 3,242 293

Wickets 74 17

Averages 31.91 17.52

5wkts/in 0 1

Best bowlings 4/20 5/3

Catches 14 0

Rangers beat Celtic in shoot-outn AFP, Glasgow

Rangers booked a place in the Scot-tish Cup � nal after a dramatic pen-alty shoot-out yesterday in an ac-tion-packed semi-� nal against Old Firm rivals Celtic that ended 2-2 after extra-time at Hampden.

Australian international Tom Rogic blasted the decisive spot-kick over the bar to hand Rang-ers a 5-4 victory after Callum McGregor and Scott Brown had also missed.

Rangers could now end their four-year exile from Europe if they can defeat Hibernian in May’s � nal.

The match at Hampden was just the second time in four years that the Glasgow giants have clashed since Rangers were forced to start life again in the country’s bottom tier following an amazing fall from grace that resulted in liquidation in June 2012. l

28DT Sport

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool King 90+3 Firmino 41, Sturridge 45

Leicester 2-2 West Ham Vardy 18, Ulloa 90+5-P Carroll 84-P, Cresswell 86

EPL RESULTS

Hodgson plays down Carroll’s Euro chancesn Reuters, London

England manager Roy Hodgson has played down West Ham United striker Andy Carroll’s chances of being picked for this year’s Europe-an Championship.

The injury-plagued 27-year-old scored a Premier League hat-trick against Arsenal last week, prompt-ing calls for Hodgson to include him in the squad for the tournament in France, which starts in June.

“Every time someone scores a goal and he’s English it is ‘why is he not playing for England?’,” the 68-year-old told reporters. l

LVG accepts United must be more ‘entertaining’n AFP, Manchester

Louis van Gaal admitted Manches-ter United’s latest contribution to the race for the Champions League was not enough to get Old Tra� ord excited.

Yet the United manager believes his side’s stodgy 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday - a result that con� rmed the Birmingham club’s relegation from the Premier League - was enough to send out a message to Manchester City and West Ham.

The three clubs are set to battle it out for the � nal place on o� er to English teams in next season’s Champions League via fourth spot in the Premier League.

While a laboured display against Villa will not have frightened their rivals, United manager Van Gaal said a 1-0 win that came courtesy of Marcus Rashford’s latest goal will have made the Hammers and City sit up and take notice.

“It was a marvellous goal,” said Van Gaal of 18-year-old Rashford’s seventh goal in 12 � rst-team ap-pearances.

“I agree that we have to give more entertainment for the fans but the most important thing was to win the game,” the Dutchman added.

“We have to look at Manchester City and also West Ham and South-ampton and we have made it very clear today that we want to win. But of course it was not the best match of Manchester United this season.”

Rashford again provided the spark in an otherwise under-whelming United display, yet the teenager can prepare himself for a rest at some stage after van Gaal revealed he considered leaving out the 18-year-old against Villa. l

Lescott slammed for relegation remarkn Reuters

Former Aston Villa striker Stan Col-lymore has lashed out at Jolean Le-scott after the defender said their relegation from the Premier League was a “weight o� the shoulders.”

Villa, European Cup winners in the 1981/82 season, lost 1-0 to Manchester United at Old Tra� ord on Saturday to con� rm demotion following a disastrous campaign in which they have won just three matches and employed the same number of managers.

Lescott has endured a tough time since signing from West Bro-mwich Albion in September but the 33-year-old said he wanted to stay on with the seven-times Eng-

lish champions.“We showed a level of pride that

there’s probably not been enough of throughout the season,” the cen-tral defender told the BBC after Sat-urday’s loss.

“It’s about results so regard-less of how we played in patches today we are relegated ... but now it’s con� rmed maybe it’s a weight o� the shoulders and we can give these fans what they deserve, some performances.

“Throughout the season we have given reasons for people to jump on us. It’s part of football, we have to take that on the chin. It’s a tough time at the minute. But at the back of our minds is next sea-son to get promoted. I’m here for as

long as Aston Villa want me.”Lescott had angered Villa fans by

posting a picture of a sports car on Twitter after a 6-0 home loss to Liv-erpool in February which he later said was published accidentally from his pocket while he was driving.

Collymore, who spent three years at Villa now works as a com-mentator and presenter on radio station TalkSPORT, said relegation should not be regarded as a relief and that people would lose their jobs at the club.

“Today this is a senior interna-tional footballer in the modern era, now con� rmed ‘maybe it’s a weight o� the shoulders.’ Why is it a weight o� the shoulders Joleon?” Colly-more said on a radio programme. l

Leonardo Ulloa celebrates scoring the second goal for Leicester from the penalty spot against West Ham United at King Power Stadium yesterday REUTERS

10-man Foxes earn hard-fought drawn Reuters

Leicester City stumbled on their march towards the Premier League title when they drew 2-2 with West Ham United and had goalscorer Jamie Vardy sent o� at the King Power Stadium yesterday.

Vardy put Leicester ahead after a lightning counter-attack in the 18th minute with a left-foot shot into the corner of the net before picking up his � rst booking for a late chal-lenge on Cheikhou Kouyate.

He picked up his second yellow card for a dive early in the second

half and West Ham gradually came back into the game against Leices-ter’s 10 men, equalising through an 84th-minute Andy Carroll penal-ty after Wes Morgan hauled down Winston Reid.

Two minutes later Aaron Cress-well scored a stunning goal for the

Hammers with a � erce shot from the edge of the box which � ew past keeper Kasper Schmeichel, but Leicester equalised with virtually the last kick of the game when Leon-ardo Ulloa scored from the spot after Carroll fouled Je� rey Schlupp.

Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp made 10 changes from the team that beat Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League and watched his experimental side overcome Bournemouth 2-1 in a low-key game in the south coast sunshine on Sunday.

Both Liverpool goals came at the

end of the � rst half, Roberto Firmi-no ending a superb move with a close range tap-in after 41 minutes before Daniel Sturridge made it 2-0 with a header from a Jordan Ibe free kick.

Bournemouth replied in stop-page time when Josh King half-vol-leyed in from the edge of the box.

Before the kicko� � owers were laid on the pitch in memory of the Liverpool 96 fans who died at Hillsborough in April 1989 with the club’s anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” played as the short ceremo-ny took place. l

Sport 29D

T

Inter dent Napoli scudetto hopesn AFP, Milan

Goals by Mauro Icardi and Marce-lo Brozovic earned Inter Milan a Champions League lifeline on the way to virtually ending Napoli’s hopes of a � rst Serie A title in 26 years with a dramatic 2-0 win on Saturday.

Napoli travelled to the San Siro hoping they could make light of 30-goal Gonzalo Higuain’s three-match ban following his dramatic meltdown in a 3-1 defeat at Udinese two weeks ago.

But Maurizio Sarri’s men were stunned in the fourth minute when an apparently o� side Icardi ran be-hind the Napoli defence to lob Pepe Reina.

Inter then soaked up a lengthy spell of Napoli pressure to hit their second on the stroke of half-time to leave the visitors with a mountain to climb.

Napoli remain in second place at six points behind Juventus but could be nine points in arrears if the champions and leaders had accounted for Palermo in Turin yesterday, after which there will be � ve matches remaining in the season.

Inter remain in fourth place but Roberto Mancini’s men are now just three points behind Roma,

who occupy the third and last Champions League qualifying spot ahead of their potentially di� cult trip to Atalanta.

Amid an ongoing Napoli media boycott, Mancini was left alone to speak post-match.

The Italian praised the Ner-

azzurri defence, but remained coy on Inter’s Champions League chances.

“In defence we were really strong,” said Mancini. “When they had the ball we didn’t concede any-thing to Napoli and that means the whole team played well.” l

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

Bologna 0-1 Torino Belotti 93-P

Carpi 4-1 Genoa Di Gaudio 45+4,Lollo 45+5, Pasciuti 49,Sabelli 86 Pavoletti 34

Inter Milan 2-0 NapoliIcardi 4, Brozovic 44

RESULTS

Leverkusen 3-0 FrankfurtKampl 40, Brandt 76,Bellarabi 90

Augsburg 1-0 StuttgartFinnbogason 36

Werder Bremen 3-2 Wolfsburg Pizarro 32-P, Guilavogui 36,Bartels 65, Yatabaré 83 Dost 87

Ho� enheim 2-1 H Berlin Schaer 33, Uth 85 Stark 27

Darmstadt 2-0 IngolstadtRausch 51, Wagner 85

Bayern Munich 3-0 SchalkeLewandowski 54, 65,Vidal 73

RESULTS

Bayern close on German title as Lewandowski strikesn Reuters, Berlin

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Schalke 04 on Saturday that edged them closer to a record fourth consecutive league title.

The Bundesliga’s leading scorer took his tal-ly to 27 goals after a � ne turn and shot in the 54th minute and a well-timed header 11 min-utes later before Arturo Vidal sealed the win.

Bayern, eyeing a second treble-winning season after 2013 and facing Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-� nal, are on 78 points, 10 clear at the top.

Second-placed Borussia Dortmund could

have cut the lead down to seven when they took on Hamburg SV yesterday.

“I got some rest this week because I did not play in the Champions League,” Lewandowski told reporters. “We were a bit too slow in the � rst half but we did much better after the break with the three goals.

“It’s important for us to play well in the league because only then can we play well in the Champions League.”

Bayern were in control from the start, dom-inating possession against a two-line defence in the � rst half. Vidal’s left-foot e� ort scraped the post seven minutes after the restart with the Bavarians again pressing for a goal. l

Rosberg romps to treble in Chinan AFP, Shanghai

Nico Rosberg stormed to victory in a chaotic Chinese Grand Prix yester-day, methodically completing a hat-trick of wins to extend his perfect start to the 2016 Formula One season.

The German’s Mercedes was jumped at the start by Daniel Ricciardo but after avoiding the � rst-corner mayhem unfolding behind the front two, he quickly caught the Red Bull and romped home to win by a whopping 38 sec-onds from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton began from the back of the Shanghai grid after a mechan-ical failure on his Mercedes sabo-taged qualifying for the Briton on Saturday but he roared back to take seventh, despite pitting early to re-place a damaged front wing.

“It’s too early to make any pre-mature conclusions,” insisted Ros-berg after stretching his champion-ship lead to 36 points. “Lewis is not many points behind - 30 points is not much, it’s a race and a bit and he will never give up.”

Ferrari’s wretched fortune con-tinued after Vettel and Kimi Rai-kkonen collided at the � rst turn, allowing Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull to slip past into third, which is where the Russian � nished. l

Inter Milan's Gary Medel (L) � ghts for the ball with Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne during their Italian Serie A match at San Siro Stadium in Milan on Saturday AFP

Showtime30DT

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

n Rumpa Farzana Zaman

The National Award for Brihonnola has been rejected. Brihonnola, a movie directed by Murad Pavez, won in three categories in the National Film Award 2014: best � lm, best story and best dialogue.After the announcement, the director of Brihonnala, was alleged for plagiarism. The allegation came under spotlight when Times of India published a report quoting Syed Mustafa Siraj’s elder son Abhijit Siraj.

In the report published in September last year, Siraj claimed that Murad Parvez’s Brihonnola

was an adaptation of “Gaachhta Bolechhilo,” a short story written by his father. Unfortunately, Murad did not give any credit to the original writer.The government had earlier sent a notice to its director, Murad Parvez, asking for his explanation on the allegation that the source of Brihonnola is Syed Mustafa Siraj’s short story “Gachhta Bolechhilo.”

The information secretary said that Parvez had responded to the ministry’s call for an explanation. However, he did not disclose the names of other members of the investigation panel.

West Bengal-based authors

Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay and Debesh Roy have written to Information Minister, Hasanul Haq Inu, asking the government to pay Rs1,50,000 to the family of Siraj as royalty. Syed Hasmat Jalal, the secretary to Syed Mustafa Siraj Academy, had also written to Inu regarding the matter.Finally, after two months of continuous allegations, Brihonnola got rejected by the National Award authority in all three of the categories. Murad has always been saying that Brihonnola was his brain child. He told Dhaka Tribune earlier that, “there

Award called o� for plagiarism

‘Krishnopokkho’ screened at Geneva International Film Festival

is no valid ground behind the allegations. Two stories may have characteristic similarities. This is not unusual.”

The � lm Brihonnola, also funded by the government, starrs

Sohana Saba and Ferdous. After a long marital relationship, Sohana Saba and Murad Parvez got divorced recently for reasons that are unknown to all. l

n Rumpa Farzana Zaman

Krishnopokkho, a � lm adaptation of a novel by the late legendary writer Humayun Ahmed, was screened at the closing ceremony of Geneva International Film Festival, which took place in Switzerland yesterday.

It is the � rst � lm directed by Meher Afroz Shaon, wife of late Humayun Ahmed, and produced by Impress Tele� lm Ltd.

The � lm was screened at the Grotholi Cinema Hall at 4pm (local time). Krishnopokkho stars Riaz and Mahiya Mahi in the leading roles.

The festival started on April 11 and commenced till yesterday. 80 full-length � lms and 30 documentaries from 30 di� erent countries were screened in four cinema halls during the festival.

This year, the managing director of Impress Tele� lm, Faridur Reza Sagar; his wife Kona Reza; and Channel i director of sales and marketing, Ibne Hasan Khan took part in the 11th edition of the Geneva Festival.

M Shameem Ahsan, ambassador of Bangladesh mission in Geneva and deputy ambassador M Nazrul Islam were invited at the screening of the � lm. l

n Showtime Desk

Nikhil Chinapa, the popular video, radio jockey and TV presenter from India, is coming to Bangladesh for the � rst time. During his visit, Nikhil will be participating in a musical event called Pulse.

Chinapa is the co-founder and former festival director of the Sunburn Festival, Asia’s premier music festival in Goa. He is the current festival curator and partner of Vh1 Supersonic – Goa’s brand new beach music festival.

Chinapa and his electronic dance music company Submerge Music are better known for being instrumental in bringing the most prominent DJs to India such as Above & Beyond, Swedish House Ma� a, Alesso, Deniz Koyu, Armin Van Buuren, Zedd, Hardwell and Tiesto.

Nikhil has hosted shows regularly on MTV India for a long time now and has been part of almost

every show the channel has aired, including MTV Select, India’s Got Talent, Fame X, MTV Roadies, Rock On and MTV Mashups. He has also acted in various Hindi � lms. He also runs an exclusive clothing line for men in collaboration with Indian online fashion brand Koovs.com. lRegistrations for the musical

event are open at www.hitthepulse.com

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

The � rst-look of the manga sci-� thriller Ghost in the Shell, featuring Scarlett Johansson as the Japanese character Major Motoko Kusanagi, was recently released. As a result, another Hollywood “whitewashing” row just broke out.

Based on the Japanese comic

of the same title, the futuristic movie is currently being � lmed in Wellington, New Zealand as a joint production between Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks, with Weta Workshop stepping up for special e� ects.

However, a debate has erupted on social media over whether an Asian actor should have been cast for Johansson’s role, with an

online petition attracting 66,000 signatories till date.

Julie Rodriguez, the author of the petition, said: “The original � lm is set in Japan, and the major cast members are Japanese. So why would the American remake star a white actress?”

“The industry is already unfriendly to Asian actors without roles in major � lms being changed

to exclude them. One recent survey found that in 2013, Asian characters made up only 4.4 percent of speaking roles in top-grossing Hollywood � lms,” she added.

Mulan star Ming Na-Wen also joined the critics, accusing � lmmakers of “whitewashing” the remake of the Japanese manga.

“Nothing against Scarlett Johansson,” she tweeted. “In fact, I’m a big fan. But everything against this whitewashing of Asian roles.”

Another critic, using the Twitter handle Peri Menopausal, adds: “Srsly?? (Seriously) So many grt (great) Asian actresses out there: #LucyLiu would slay this, obviously, but also @MingNa, Arden Cho, Maggie Q, Zhang Ziyi.”

Johansson will play a human-cyborg hybrid who leads an elite taskforce called Section 9, which is charged with wiping out dangerous criminals. Directed by Snow White and the Huntsman’s Rupert Sanders, Ghost in the Shell is expected to release next April.

Aloha, a romantic comedy by Cameron Crowe from last year, also came under fire for casting Emma Stone as a character who is of Hawaiian and Chinese descent. l

n Rumpa Farzana Zaman

Adil Hossain Nobel and Sadia Islam Mou, are a very popular duo of the Bangladeshi advertising industry, is back after 15 years with an upcoming TVC for a telecom. The concept of the TVC is the “perks of coming back” and the duo � t

the concept perfectly. Recently, they showcased their on screen chemistry while shooting for Robi’s “win back” o� er.

They said that if the story and concepts are good enough, they will not say no because the only thing that can attract the audience is quality work. l

31D

TMONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH

On-screen chemistry Nikhil Chinapa in Dhaka

The PrestigeHBO Hits, 4:28pmRobert and Alfred are friends who are also upcoming magicians. They start presenting magic shows together but part ways due to an unfortunate incident that makes them rivals. Thus begins the competition as they try to outdo each other. Things turn ugly when Robert � nds out that Alfred has invented a new trick. Cast: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince CaspianStar Movies, 9:30pmA whole year after conquering the White Witch, the Pevensie siblings - Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan - return to Narnia. They � nd out that more than 1,300 years have gone by in Narnia time and The Golden Age is well past. Narnia has been conquered by humans and the evil King Miraz is in charge. Determined to never give up his power, Miraz has driven all the magical creatures into exile. He is also plotting to kill his nephew, Prince Caspian who is the rightful heir to the throne.Cast: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell

Wild Wild WestWB, 9:30pmJim West is a former civil war hero and Artemus Gordon is a US marshal who is an expert at disguise. Arliss Loveless is a mad man threatening the country. President Ulysses Grant orders Jim and Artemus to team up against the villain and have him arrested. Watch the � lm as Jim and Artemus use their combined skills to outsmart Arliss during a train journey from Washington to Utah. Cast: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Salma Hayek, Kenneth Branagh, Ted Levine

Scarlett Jo’s new role incites backlash

Showtime

Back Page32DT

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016

CPD: QUALITY BUDGET NEEDED TO RETAIN GROWTH PAGE 15

DPL CLUBS CRAMMING TO MIRPUR FACILITY PAGE 25

AWARD CALLED OFF FOR PLAGIARISM PAGE 30

MP: Criminals, not police, killed Banshkhali protestersn Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

It was criminals, not the police, who shot and killed coal plant pro-testers in Banshkhali, the local law-maker has alleged.

“It was not the police � ring; rath-er it was the � ring of criminals that left four people dead at Gondamara union of Chittagong’s Banshkhali upazila,” said Mosta� zur Rahman Chowdhury, the Awami League MP from Banshkhali constituency.

He made the comment yesterday while speaking as the chief guest at a view-exchange programme on the construction of a coal-� red power

plant. It was jointly organised by Banshkhali upazila administration and Power Division.

The shooting took place on April 4 when the locals protested against the move to set up a Chinese-funded coal-based power plant by local busi-ness conglomerate S Alam Group.

“I promise that the innocent locals will not be harassed in this connection. I will take steps to bring them out on bail. However, the people involved with the inci-dent must face legal consequenc-es,” said Mosta� zur.

Taking a swipe at the people who are opposing the plant, the lawmak-

er remarked that evil politics was going on over the setting up of the plant. “They [protesters] are now provoking the villagers of Bansh-khali for gaining undue � nancial advantage from S Alam Group.”

He added that there would have been more bloodshed if a ban on ral-ly had not been imposed on that day.

“The prime minister does not undertake any development pro-ject that will prove harmful for cit-izens. Sheikh Hasina adopted the plan to install the coal-based power plant as she loves the residents of Banshkhali,” the MP said.

Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, additional

secretary of the Power Division, also gave a powerpoint presentation to assure locals that the proposed pow-er plant would not cause any dam-age to the locals or the environment.

“It is not plausible that a pro-ject of the incumbent government will cause environmental hazard when our prime minister has been awarded with Champions of the Earth [award]. An amount of Tk30-35 crore will be spent annually for the development of the local-ity and the money will be sourced from the proceeds of the power plant,” Kaikaus said.

Mohammad Hossain, director

General of Power Division’s Power Cell, said: “There is no possibility of environmental degradation if a coal-� red power plant is set up in the area. The proposed plant will be constructed adopting modern methods. Although the plant will be installed by a private company, the government will monitor it.”

Banshkhali upazila chairman Jahirul Islam said: “A section of seasonal politicians are spreading propaganda and misguiding peo-ple for making some quick money. However, we are not brokering for anybody’s interest. We are for the development of the area.” l

CAAB lifts ban on visitors’ entry to Dhaka airportn Ishtiaq Husain

The Civil Aviation Authority, Bang-ladesh (CAAB) has lifted its ban on visitors’ access to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

Rezaul Karim, public relations o� cer of CAAB, con� rmed the mat-ter to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“The embargo on visitors’ entry at the terminal in departure and arrival areas at the airport has been lifted today (yesterday),” he said.

Earlier, the CAAB authorities imposed the embargo on visitors’ entry at the airport at the end of last

year following a militant threat.Immediately after CAAB’s deci-

sion to lift the ban was made public on Facebook, people responded pos-itively on the Facebook page of Mag-istrates, All Airports of Bangladesh.

“This is the best news of the day,” commented Mehrab Ali, one of the page’s followers. He also asked about the entry fee.

Welcoming CAAB’s decision, an-other follower named Kazol Bepari said when the ban was in place, his mother could not see o� two of his brothers at the departure terminal when they went abroad. l

Earthquake kills 233 in Ecuadorn Reuters

The death toll from Ecuador’s big-gest earthquake in decades soared to at least 233 on Sunday as rescu-ers using tractors and bare hands hunted desperately for survivors in shattered coastal towns.

The 7.8 magnitude quake struck o� the Paci� c coast on Saturday and was felt around the Andean nation of 16m people, causing pan-ic as far away as the highland cap-ital Quito and collapsing buildings and roads in a swathe of western towns.

President Rafael Correa, who was rushing home from a trip to

Italy, said the con� rmed number of fatalities rose on Sunday to 233. “The immediate priority is to res-cue people in the rubble,” he said via Tiwtter.

More than 1,500 people were in-jured, authorities said.

“There are people trapped in various places and we are starting rescue operations,” Vice President Jorge Glas said on Sunday morning before boarding a plane to the area.

A state of emergency was de-clared in six provinces.

In Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, rubble lay in the streets and a bridge fell on top of a car.

“It was terrifying, we were all

scared and we’re still out in the streets because we’re worried about aftershocks,” said Guayaquil security guard Fernando Garcia.

About 13,500 security force per-sonnel were mobilised to keep order around Ecuador, and $600 million in credit from multilateral lenders was immediately activated for the emergency, the government said.

Parts of the highland capital Quito were without power or phone service for several hours but the city government said those services had been restored and there were no reports of casualties in the city.

The government called it the

worst quake in the country since 1979. In that disaster, 600 people were killed and 20,000 injured, ac-cording to the US Geological Survey.

Among international aid, Ven-ezuela and Mexico were sending personnel and supplies, the Correa government said.

A tsunami warning was lifted on Saturday night but coastal res-idents were urged to seek higher ground in case tides rise.

The OPEC member said oil production was not a� ected, but closed its main re� nery of Esmeral-das, located near the epicenter, as a precautionary measure.

The Ecuadorean quake followed

two large and deadly quakes that struck Japan since Thursday. Both countries are located on the seis-mically active “Ring of Fire” that circles the Paci� c, but according to the US Geological Survey large quakes separated by such long distances would probably not be related.

“Even the earth’s rocky crust is not rigid enough to transfer stress e� ciently over thousands of miles,” it said on its web site. Quakes can cause other big quakes within a range of hundreds of miles, but can cause only small, brief quakes at a distance of thou-sands of miles, it said. l

Mother of slain Sa� a, 23, falls to the feet of a police o� cial, begging to see her daughter for one last time at Shamakhdum in Rajshahi city yesterday. Sa� a was slaughtered by her husband Ainal Haque, 30, in broad daylight over a trivial matter. Ainal’s sister-in-law Shoma was also injured when she went to stop Ainal and was stabbed in the process. Ainal was later arrested by police AZAHAR UDDIN

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com